The Mist of Illusions
by Ferilium
Summary: Hidden truths, seeming lies, dangerous intrigues... The correct solutions are buried somewhere, but sometimes it can be very difficult to find them. Will all important answers be revealed at the right time? The continuation of TR: AOD.
1. Chapter 1: Lost In The Light

_Hello! I've finally plucked up the courage to become more active here and post something. So here it is, my version of what happened after the game Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. I'm aware that the beginning is not very interesting, but it should hopefully change with later chapters. The first chapter was inspired by the last part of AOD teaser.  
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_Note:_  
><em>I'm not a native English speaker, so I apologize for possible mistakes.<em>

_Acknowledgement:_  
><em>Here I would like to thank gyikhu for help (especially for beta-reading, advice and encouragement). THANK YOU! :D<em>

Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belongs to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters and plots from Tomb Raider. I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Unbearable pain. It was all they both could feel at first. Luckily for the Lux Veritatis warrior and the pretended member of Cabal it lasted only for a short moment because their suffering was so intense that it was impossible for them to stay conscious. This was something completely new to the biblical creature, but an unpleasantly familiar feeling for the man.

Almost at the same time, only in a different place of the same large, mostly underground complex, the cold darkness released them both, the human and the Nephilim, from the agony.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Lost In The Light<strong>

The light was everywhere. Nothing else. Only the bright white glow was embracing him now together with complete silence. He was lying on his side on the floor and couldn't move.

_Where am I? Is this even real? Is this the end?_

Many confused questions and thoughts was swirling in his head but something was preventing him from thinking clearly. The man had no idea how he had got there or for how long he had been there like this. Maybe for a few minutes, maybe for hours.

But after a while something changed. It was not just that white nothingness all around him anymore. Kurtis Trent saw something black in the distance, strongly contrasting with the surroundings. At first he wasn't able to tell what exactly it was because his vision was very blurry and hazed. All he could say was that the object wasn't static. It was moving.

The picture started getting clearer after a little moment. There was standing a person clothed in a long black cloak with a hood in front of him. He could see just a dark silhouette which looked something like a materialized shadow.

_It looks like Death. Only the scythe is missing... Just great,_ he thought sarcastically, not loosing this part of his personality even in one of his darkest moments. _So he finally got me after so many unsuccessful attempts... I've always known Grim Reaper is a poor loser._

Even thinking so, he didn't feel fear. Kurtis himself didn't exactly understand his feelings in that moment. He didn't want to die, but on the other hand, he had somehow known he's not coming back after finishing the business with Eckhardt. He just knew it.

_So that's it._

The silhouette was just standing without doing anything for a minute. In his eyes it appeared like, whoever it was, was watching him intently. Then the person put the hood down and right after that took the whole cloak off. It fell on the ground without making any sound and then disappeared. It almost looked like the piece of clothing fell into the invisible pit that had been never even there in the first place.

It was a woman.

_A very nice beginning..._ he commented in his mind lightly, _...or better said, the end,_ he added bitterly, reconciled with his fate. But his senses sharpened right at the moment the cloak hit the ground level so he could see the whole figure. Even though Kurtis could still see just her shadow, the woman immediately reminded him of someone he knew.

"Lara..." only that one word escaped from his lips.

Was it a distorted reality or just a twisted memory? Kurtis couldn't say for sure.

_Maybe somewhere in a different universe my life could have completely changed thanks to her... Sometimes I almost feel sorry I don't believe in those things._

Somehow he managed to reach out his hand for her but she was way too far for him to touch her. Then Kurtis started slightly more realizing what had been happening earlier. His thinking got a little clearer.

_Feeling absolutely no pain after being pierced right through the chest by that stupid overweighted bug woman... Yeah, I'm surely hallucinating. But that can mean only one thing... I'm not dead yet. Maybe I can still..._ he thought and wanted to stand up but couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

_She is somewhere out there with Eckhardt... I must find her and help her..._

The Lux Veritatis Warrior even tried to call his beloved Chirugai to him with all his left might but it felt like something was holding it back, preventing it to be delivered into his ready outstretched hand. He lost his weak connection with the discus like blade weapon right after the first and at the same time the last try, feeling loosing his last bits of remaining energy by it.

Darkness started overcoming him again. He got very tired all of a sudden, feeling a great exhaustion he had probably never felt before. His eyes started slowly closing. Kurtis was desperately trying to overcome it but his efforts didn't seem to have a slighest effect.

_No. Not yet!... Not now..._

And then against his will, everything darkened completely and he was once again swallowed by the deep darkness.


	2. Chapter 2: Missing

_Hello everyone! :)_

_I'm finally back with the second chapter! :) I'm very sorry it took so long. :/ I'll do my best to update more often._

_I would like to THANK YOU ALL for the support! You are great! I was kind of anxious about the feedback... and I was truly pleasantly surprised about your interest. I've been so happy! :)_

_Again, my big thanks goes to gyikhu for beta-reading. You are an AWESOME person! ;)_

_So here's chapter two. I hope you'll like it. :)_

Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belongs to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters _(except the original ones who appears in this story)_ and plots from Tomb Raider.

I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Missing<strong>

After the Chirugai had indicated her the direction, she didn't hesitate and followed that way. Lara was eager to finally take a break and breathe out, but she was well aware that it was not completely over yet. At this moment her head was filled by many thoughts and mixed feelings.

She supposed that the police were probably still on her tail, undoubtedly blaming her for some of the murders committed by the Monstrum. Lara knew that proving her innocence wouldn't be an easy task. But now, with the Strahov building being filled with evidence concerning the Cabal, Eckhardt and their odd suspicious activities, she was hoping that it might not be impossible. She reasoned that her situation changed considerably since the beginning. Now she had at least something in her hands that could back up her version of the story. Lara wasn't planning to tell the police completely everything though. She was sure no one would believe her anyway.

Just a few minutes ago Lara Croft had managed to defeat the Black Alchemist, Pieter van Eckhardt, also thanks to the unexpected help from a creature that shouldn't have existed at all. But what was more important, by completing this task she had saved the whole world from a new order . Lara wasn't sure what exactly the awakening of the Sleeper could have caused, but she had no doubts that it wouldn't had been anything good. At least not for the world as everyone knows it. And it didn't really matter to her if it had happened under the command of the Black Alchemist or a Nephilim. Luckily, these two evil beings were now both dead and the Sleeper completely destroyed.

Lara also still had to think about Von Croy.

_Everything has changed so badly since Egypt..._ she thought sadly.

It seemed to Lara that since the collapse of the pyramid her bad luck would never end. And now it was even more difficult for her to remember a person who was her mentor and friend, no matter what had happened between them.

_Werner didn't deserve this._

But there was something else what was weighing her mind down the most at the moment. Or better said, someone. Her newly gained American ally who had been helping her and who had most likely saved her life. Looking back, she conceded that maybe even more than once.

She was very confused for a minute after seeing Karel's ability to change his appearance. It was something very unexpected, something that shocked her greatly. Lara would have never thought, perhaps not even in her wildest dreams, that there could be a real living Nephilim. It was something totally unthinkable even for a person like her, who had already seen many unusual things in her life.

For a moment Lara doubted if Kurtis had really even existed. If she had been really talking to him or it was just Karel all the time. But there were several things that didn't fit into this puzzle.

"He must have been real," she said to herself resolutely.

If nothing else, the pool of blood persuaded her that Kurtis existed. This and the fact that his extraordinary weapon had been moving. The pulling movement of the disc made her smile for a moment after it had momentarily vibrated in her hand, but also this actuality brought sadness too. There was too much blood on the floor of the arena. Way too much. And he was nowhere to be found.

_Strange._

The Tomb Raider was walking through the one of the seemingly endless corridors of the Strahov complex, trying to find her temporary partner. Lara wasn't the kind of person who was used to leave anyone behind. She would never do what Werner Von Croy, in her eyes, had done to her.

She believed that the strange weapon could guide her to its master. Lara had no idea how exactly this object, which she was very fascinated by, was working. She didn't have that many information about the members of the Lux Veritatis order and their abilities, except those which she herself had seen Kurtis using earlier with her own eyes. At the moment the disc seemed to represent the only option for her to find him in such a labyrinthine place. Lara knew that if she lost him now, it would be extremely difficult and perhaps even impossible to find him afterwards. Of course, assuming that he survived a serious injury.

She didn't even know his whole name and couldn't be sure if the first name he had told her was his real one. But still, she wanted to save him. Lara felt as if she owned Kurtis something and she wanted to repay her debt to him. The other voice inside her head kept telling her it was not the only reason. Lara reluctantly admitted to herself that maybe there was something special she felt in his company, but she did her best to ignore this voice completely, attributing it just to her exhaustion and tiredness. However, a part of the strange feeling still remained present.

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><p>Since the blades of the disc had retracted, there was no other sign. Her high hopes in finding Kurtis easily went down when the way she was walking on had only brought her to a crossroad. But Lara wasn't willing to give up easily. Without hesitating, she decided to look for him on her own without relying on his blade weapon, which was currently located in her backpack.<p>

The adventurer was getting through the extensive Strahov Complex for a long time. It could last hours, or at least that's how it appeared to Lara. It was difficult for her to tell exactly how much time she had spent there like this. She couldn't be sure, especially because there were many places in the premises of the Strahov building where it was impossible to get a glimpse of the daylight, particularly in the lower regions.

After analyzing the current situation and options, her next search started in the higher level of the compound where Kurtis was supposed to go to turn the power on. Lara assumed that he knew this area more in detail and possibly could find a good hiding place there.

After going through many dark corridors, she chanced upon no one alive except some, to her own surprise, non-attacking _patients_ of the Sanitarium. The young woman was doing her best in staying out of their reach. She also spotted several dead bodies on the way, some of them horribly mutilated, mostly with missing limbs.

_That probably has something to do with what the Cabal was keeping here. It apparently got free. And if Kurtis didn't take care of it, it still could be running loose here somewhere..._

"How much worse can this all get?" Lara asked herself with a sigh, getting more and more desperate with every next long minute without any success.

She was controlling each of the cells inside, kept peeking into the locked ones through the small windows on the doors, and was trying to evade mutated creatures which were walking free all the time.

This whole area was making her feel uneasy. "Scary place, scary sounds, scary patients... or already mutants? Perfect for a horror movie," she said to herself quietly.

But considering the hostile environment, Lara was glad that so far she had encountered no aggressive inmates, mercenaries or any other attacking enemies at least. Though this slightly changed in the moment when she had got too close to one of the doors and wanted to peek into the room which was inhabited by three angry mutated monsters. Feeling her presence, they suddenly started to scratch at the door by their blades they had instead of hands like hungry dogs trying to get a chunk of meat. In this case, Lara's. The thick door was shaking violently in its frame. But as long as it remained shut and safely locked, there was nothing to worry about. And so Lara's otherwise calm journey could continue.

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><p>After another long while she noticed a stream of artificial light falling on the ground of the hallway from the small crack of a slightly opened door. The adventurer could also hear a rustling coming from there. She was unable to see inside due to the fact that a piece of cloth was covering a small window on the door, blocking her view into the room. Lara, with a growing hope in her heart, slowly and carefully got closer with one of her guns prepared, hoping to catch sight of the familiar face.<p>

_I must be careful._

Cautiously, she touched the metallic surface lightly with the fingers, pushing it slightly, slowly opening the door with a creaking sound...

The door suddenly flew open from inside. It hit the wall behind it with force. The loud sound echoed through the corridor. This unexpected action startled Lara so much that she immediately jumped away from it, ready to fire, grasping her gun strongly by both of her hands again. One of the inmates of the Sanitarium wearing an unfastened straightjacket ran out from the room around her without stopping.

Still pointing at the back of her target, Lara was also taken aback by his face, which she could spot clearly since she was standing in a very close distance. It was even more deformed than of the mutant's she had met in the airlock earlier.

_When Kurtis obviously thought that I wanted to kill him,_ she thought somewhat nostalgically.

It seemed like the mutated being didn't notice her presence at all and just run away somewhere deeper into the building.

The explorer lowered her weapon and was trying to quickly calm down, endeavouring to control her heavy breathing and quick heartbeat. Lara briefly surveyed the room from the outside. It now remained empty.

"Damn it!" she hissed and looked around, finding herself looking into the endless hallways in both directions and standing, except some weird hushed noises in the distance, in deep silence.

Lara lowered her head and sighed loudly, gazing at the floor deep in thought, considering her next steps.

_This is useless. This place is way too huge for only one person to search through it completely. It's impossible. It would take ages. And there's a quite high possibility that he is..._ Lara stopped for a little moment, taking a deep breath, _already dead,_ she eventually finished.

_His weapon is not active anymore and he was apparently bleeding heavily. I seriously doubt he would have been able to get away on his own in such a condition, and I even more highly doubt that there would be someone else willing to help him except me. More likely willing to kill him. And who knows how many more monsters are still running loose here..._ she shook her head to get rid of the negative thoughts.

I_ can't just leave him. But even if he's still alive, and I believe he is, I won't be able to find him in time just by myself..._ she thought.

_But maybe there's a way how to find him quickly. There is probably only one thing I can do for him right now..._

Being so lost in thoughts, Lara let her caution down for a moment and failed to hear a man who was now standing behind her until he spoke aloud.

"What do we have here?" a voice asked in an arrogant fashion.

The sentence was followed by a well-known click of turning the safety of the weapon off.


	3. Chapter 3: The Dangerous Game

_After a long pause, hello to everyone. :)  
><em>

_Awww... I don't know how to thank you all enough for your support! I'm very happy for every single review. :) :) :) Since I can't send them a PM, here I would like to thank very much reviewing guests too! Your support is as important as ff members's to me. ;)_

_I still can't believe that there are so many people who like what I have written so far. I'm touched. :)_

_Also I would like to say that for me as a beginner writer (I don't really consider myself a writer, but you probably get what I mean.) is any constructive criticism very welcomed and I'm grateful for it. It could improve my future chapters/stories. ;) So thank you very much for that too. Feel free to write what you think. ;)_

_I'm sorry that it always takes me so much time to update. :( I feel really bad for letting you all wait for so long. I apologize. :( Unfortunately there are many things in my life I can't affect very much. :/ I wish I had more time for writing... On top of it, I want the story to be written well (so it wouldn't disappoint you). ;) And it takes some time._

_I hope you understand. And I hope that you will enjoy the chapter._

_And one more important thing: one of the greatest writers here named _gyikhu_ was so kind and beta-read for me again. :) Thank you!_

_carolin: Nice to meet you! :) AOD fans are more than welcome in my AOD/LCxKT-worshipping kingdom! ;D Thank you for your kind words. ;)_

Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belongs to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters (except the original ones who appears in this story) and plots from Tomb Raider.

I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: The Dangerous Game<strong>

Lara stood rooted to the spot, cursing her carelessness under her breath. "Damn."

"Drop your guns to the floor and turn around," the unknown voice commanded. "Slowly."

She didn't move, considering her options.

"Do it right now!" the man shouted angrily. "Don't make me run out of patience," he added in a dangerous tone.

Seeing no other possibility at the moment, the adventurer grimaced and did as she had been told. Lara first let go of the gun she was now holding in her right hand, then pulled the other one from the holster and threw it to the ground. Both pistols fell down with a clatter. Then she turned round, holding her hands up slightly in surrender.

As Lara expected, she came face to face with one of the mercenaries. He was dressed in a typical dark blue overall she had already seen many times before here in Strahov and Paris. Her opponent appeared to be young, she guessed he could be around his mid-thirties. The man was tall and well-built. His physique led her to the assumption that he was strong and agile. The mercenary didn't have his gas mask on, so she could see his short-cut black hair slicked back. He was light eyed, but Lara wasn't able to make out the exact colour of his eyes because he was standing over five yards away from her and the whole corridor was plunged in gloom, only small lamps on the wall above doors offering muffled light in this part of the Sanitarium. Many women would find him appealing, but Lara felt there was something dark about this man, and it was not connected only to the fact that he was currently holding her at gunpoint.

"Hmm." His eyes scanned her from head to toe and back. "You don't look like you belong here in the Sanitarium, sweetheart."

"On the other hand, I think you fit here perfectly," she immediately answered.

He smirked at her sarcastic remark.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so cold, darling." The man slightly waved with his weapon. "I'm the one with the gun here."

"Right." Her sight fell on the submachine gun in his hands for a fleeting second.

_The Mag Vega. This could be a problem._

Based on previous encounters, Lara was aware that these guys were well trained and equipped, therefore she couldn't afford to take any of them lightly. She lifted her gaze back to his face.

"But you shouldn't bother with me," Lara continued emotionlessly. "The person who hired you is dead. You won't get paid."

"In fact, I think I will get a rich bonus for you," he replied. "My boss will be surely happy to see you again."

The picture of the robust, bald man who she had spotted at the Louvre for the first time immediately crossed her mind. Lara also recalled him kicking Kurtis mercilessly down from the high platform. She certainly didn't like him.

"It was not very clever trying to outsmart us, girl," the man stated self-assuredly.

"Us? Who's this _us_ you're talking about? The Cabal?" Lara asked in a bold tone.

"The Agency."

"Ah. I guess that's the title of your hardworking mercenary organization."

"That's right. You are quite clever for a woman."

_Hmph. So you are one of those primitive male chauvinists_, she thought annoyed. _I think someone should teach you some manners._

Lara felt like expressing these thoughts aloud, but decided against it and kept her mouth shut, not wanting to make him mad.

"I personally saw the stunt you and your infamous boyfriend put on at the Louvre," he carried on. "One of us got completely smashed flat by that boring museum piece. It was a real pain to clean that mess up."

"Your friend?" Lara asked coldly, continuing in their forced conversation.

"Nah, just a colleague. I couldn't care less. That idiot shouldn't have been so hot-headed. He just clearly wanted to gain points in front of the boss." The man chuckled derisively. "That loser didn't even manage to shoot someone like you in the gallery." The mercenary measured her with contempt. "The boss was really angry," he proceeded, "and he is usually perfectly calm. It was a nice trick from your companion. I must give him that."

_First let's try to settle this amicably,_ Lara said to herself in her head.

"I can pay you more than your boss," she stated audaciously.

In fact, Lara certainly wasn't planning to give him anything now or later. It was only her attempt to get some time and at least partially divert his attention. She very well knew that they would have never let her leave alive, especially after seeing both mercenaries' faces and the actions of the unit they belonged to. Lara supposed that was also the reason why the mercenary standing in front of her was quite communicative and had willingly given away the name of the group he was working for. In his eyes she was already dead. But his overall behaviour told her that he was apparently underestimating her. And she was ready to use it against him.

"I'm sure you certainly can, beauty."

She decided to ignore his provocative glance.

"How much do you want?" Lara asked self-confidently.

The man laughed. "It's not that easy to leave our club, you know? And to be honest, I enjoy doing my job, _girl_."

_Great,_ she thought sarcastically. _What else did I expect? Time for a plan B. It will need some improvisation..._

Something behind the man caught her eyes. Lara glimpsed one of the inmates passing through the hallway in the distance. It gave her an idea.

_This place..._

"Enough of this chit-chat. Put your hands behind your head," the mercenary ordered in an adamant voice.

She looked over his shoulder again, this time more obviously. It was not unnoticed by him, but he didn't show anything. Lara herself was pretending that it had never happened, keeping a neutral expression on her face.

"This Sanitarium is a very strange place," she started, "I've noticed it's quite lively here."

"Shut up!"

Lara slowly raised her arms and linked her hands behind her head. Once again, she glanced behind him for a short moment.

"As you wish." Lara said more quietly this time.

"Or is there anything else you want to tell me, chick?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"What?" She made a perplexed face. "I don't know what you are..." Then her expression suddenly changed into a relaxed one.

"Well..." Lara let her arms fall loosely along her body. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid you won't be able to enjoy your job anymore," she said now in a very self-confident tone, then put her head to the side and openly glanced over his shoulder.

Suddenly he swiftly turned around, pointing the gun into the empty corridor, his eyes searching for any signs of possible danger. The man had obviously thought there was one of the mutants or maybe something even more dangerous.

It was Lara's goal to evoke this feeling. She didn't really expect such an easy trick would work, but the atmosphere of the place played in her favor.

Her trap worked. And Lara was waiting right for this moment.

In a fraction of a second, she kicked her guns lying slightly in front of her further into the corridor on her left side and ran after them.

After quickly realizing his amateurish mistake, the mercenary spinned and fired at her without proper aiming. The powerful gunfire resonated through the halls. Luckily for Lara all of the bullets missed their target mostly because she dodged them by doing a somersault swiftly, simultaneously picking one of the weapons up and returning the fire from the ducked position.

He was visibly caught off guard by her risky move and the speed of it. The shooting made him crouch and then half-fell as one of the bullets scratched his thigh, but he still managed to cover himself in one of the alcoves in the wall.

She grabbed the other gun from the ground, ready to flee.

The man was furious. Kneeling, he peeked out and fired at her again.

Several bullets embedded themselves in the wall just a few inches above her head only half a second after she had disappeared around the bend and he lost her from sight.

Lara had decided to retreat for now. She knew that his weapon was very efficient, and the mercenary was obviously good at using it.

The man quickly rose to his feet from his crouched position with a hiss, his face grimacing with pain from the gunshot wound.

"You bitch!" he roared and ran after her.

The adventurer managed to get a small lead thanks to the complicated hallways, but was aware that it could have changed any minute.

Lara couldn't be sure if the place was unknown to the mercenary like to her. There was a possibility that the man who was hunting her was assigned to patrol this part of the compound and knew the plans of the building perfectly. He could have a big advantage on his side and could be simply toying with his prey right now.

Lara had to be on the highest alert. She was still limping slightly, her injuries burning, her whole body aching. Luckily her wounds were minor, but still hurt. The Tomb Raider was used to deal with physical pain, but she felt that the most of her energy was gone because of the previous events. On top of everything, she had no idea where she was going.

Lara was hoping he might lose interest after a while, but this was obviously not the case.

"If I were you, I wouldn't go there! You have no idea what's awaiting you! Your lovely body will get mutilated or eaten in a blink of an eye! It would be quite a shame! Come on, come back to me!" he shouted. "And maybe I won't make you suffer too much, you little bitch." he added quietly to himself.

It was like playing a tag game in a maze, but this situation was far from any children's game. Her own life was at stake.


	4. Chapter 4: The Hunt For The Hunter

_Hello! :)_

_Once again, I would like to thank you all for your feedback. :D I really appreciate your interest very much! Thanks a lot! :) :) :)_

_As always, the biggest thanks goes to _gyikhu_, my beta reader and probably one of the kindest people on this planet. ;)_

_Many of you will probably recognize that this chapter is heavily inspired by one AOD wallpaper and also by one of the beta screenshots where Lara is in the Sanitarium. I hope you will like it! :)_

Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belongs to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters except the original ones who appear in this story.

I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: The Hunt For The Hunter<strong>

Lara was rushing along the corridor, but came to a halt when she realized that she couldn't hear the mercenary's running footsteps behind her anymore for a little while now, nor his threatening shouts.

The young aristocrat listened attentively for a longer moment, and then heard the mercenary was catching up with her, his now deliberately light footsteps approaching.

Lara resumed moving ahead, but slowed down her pace and tiptoed through the hallway, trying to make absolutely no sound. But she knew it was only a matter of time till they would collide with each other. The adventurer was thinking about how to take her pursuer by surprise and how not to let that happen other way round.

The Tomb Raider was weighing her options. She didn't have many bullets left in her twin pistols, which were her only weapons now since the rest of her firearms was out of ammunition or close to it so she had disposed of them on her way back to the higher levels of the Strahov complex. Lara certainly didn't want to be caught by the police with such an arsenal. But now she concluded it might not have been such a smart decision.

_Maybe I would have found some more ammo here somewhere..._

"Look girl, I'm not a coward!" his powerful voice unexpectedly resounded through the halls again, snatching her from her thoughts. "Those damned once-human monsters or anything else here won't stop me! You won't make fun of me!"

Lara almost grunted aloud in annoyance at his boasting, but kept concentrating.

Then she spotted a submachine gun lying on the ground in front of her. Lara rushed to it, kneeled down and picked it up. But she could only curse inwardly when she noted that its cartridge was empty. Nevertheless she took it with her.

Right after that she encountered a dead body, or better said, the rest of it, of one of the mercenaries on the floor, leaning against the closed door. His left arm was missing to the elbow, the right one to the wrist. There was also a chunk of meat bitten out of his left thight.

The adventurer frowned at the horrendous sight. Trying not to look at the mortal wounds, she concentrated on patting down the corpse, looking for anything useful.

_Nothing._

The dissatisfaction was apparent in her face until she noticed a security pass on the floor beside him. Lara lifted it up and looked at the door and the card reader next to it.

_He must have been trying to run away this way and almost succeed... Almost._

Her assumption proved to be right. The card opened the door and she sighed with relief that it had worked. Lara closed it behind her, hoping that the mercenary didn't hear the sound of the closing door and didn't have access to that part.

She ran through the several corridors, trying to get a significant lead and looking for the suitable place to set some kind of a trap. Less than half a minute had passed when she heard him opening and then closing the door quietly. Lara cursed in her mind, kept up her pace and continued through several bends and long hallways.

Suddenly she slowed down and came to a halt with narrowed eyes, carefully examining her surroundings. The place seemed strangely familiar to her.

_I am going in circles, am I not?..._

She leant her back against the wall to rest for a moment, thinking up her next move.

A sudden loud bang out of nowhere close behind her head made the adventurer jolt and instinctively spin around. Lara immediately recognized the heavy iron door which she had already passed by. The aggressive mutants were reacting to her presence again, banging and scratching at the door.

The sound itself startled her, but what was concerning her more was the fact that it could give away her position. Lara knew she had to do something fast.

Only after a few seconds she could hear his running footsteps close behind her. The mercenary now obviously didn't bother to move quietly anymore.

_I must slow him down._

Hearing him just around the corner, Lara decided for a risky move. She undid the door latch and started running away as fast as she could. Almost immediately after that the door burst open.

When Lara dared to peek behind her while still running, she saw that all three monsters started chasing after her at first, but then two of them suddenly changed their direction towards the man who appeared around the corner and just ran into the same spot where she had been standing only a few seconds ago. The inmates ran at him ready to attack, so he immediately started firing at them.

Even though the mercenary had glimpsed Lara, the distraction prevented him from paying further attention to her and he stayed behind.

The Tomb Raider kept running whilst pulling her guns out of their holsters and then turning and shooting at the being which was following her without stopping.

After several fired rounds, the mutant seemed to take fright and changed its course to the nearest turn-off, disappearing from her view. The adventurer afforded to slow down slightly and continued forward deeper into the Sanitarium, but quickened her step again when the man's gunfire ceased. Although it could mean that he had lost his fight, there was no reason to assume that it was not the other way around. Lara knew it was very unlikely that she would get rid of him so easily when he had such a powerful weapon with him.

When Lara got to the next crossroad, she hesitated.

_Forward, left, right... or back and then another way?... This cat and mouse game is bound to end sooner or later. And I'm afraid I won't like the outcome very much if it continues like this..._

She took a few steps straight ahead and then absent-mindedly looked above herself where something caught her eye. The adventurer halted and then smiled mischievously. Now she had a plan.

* * *

><p>The mercenary was quietly and carefully making his way through the corridors again, his eyes hungrily searching for his target. He understood that the woman wouldn't be an easy opponent as he had originally thought. But he didn't doubt that he would get her in a short while and give her a proper lesson. However, the man was still underestimating her abilities and primarily, her intelligence and ingenuity. This fact was clear only a few seconds later.<p>

He got to the crossroad and looked each way, then continued forward. The submachine on the floor at the end of the hallway further in the distance in front of him caught his attention.

The man narrowed his eyes and slowly and cautiously started moving towards the weapon. The mercenary couldn't have known that the one who he was looking for was hanging upside down above him with one of her guns pointed right at his head at this very moment, holding her weight by her legs entwined with a cable sticking out of the ceiling. A very similar strategy had worked on Kurtis and she was hoping her pursuer would fall for that too.

Lara was ready to pull the trigger, but came to a halt when she heard noises coming from the opposite side. She immediately aimed the other pistol to that direction and waited, now concentrating on two targets. Lara expected it to be one of his stable companions and she didn't want to give away her location too soon.

The adventurer was preparing herself to get rid of them both at once, but things happened differently than she had anticipated. Instead of an armed man in the overall, another mutant appeared and ran right at the mercenary.

"Die, you piece of junk!" the man shouted and immediately opened a deafening fire.

Unexpectedly, another two mutated beings emerged behind his back and one of them pierced him through the left shoulder with a spike coming out of its hand. The other one made a deep gash on his right calf. Everything happened so quickly that he had no time to react.

"Aaah!" then man shouted in pain and surprise.

Lara coldly watched the scene below her. She saw no reason to interrupt.

The mercenary started shooting around himself blindly, trying to hit any of the mutants. Somehow he managed to create a gap between them, making himself an escape route.

The man began quickly moving backwards deeper into the corridor and kept on firing at his attackers. Soon he disappeared from Lara's sight and so did the mutated creatures which were following him, oblivious to the gunfire.

After a while Lara could hear the empty clicking of his submachine gun from somewhere far away from her, telling the Tomb Raider he had run out of ammunition.

_That should keep them all busy for a while,_ she thought.

As the situation seemingly calmed down and she could hear no sounds in the close distance, Lara was ready to jump down when she suddenly heard steps coming nearer.

_What is it this time?!_ she thought irritatedly.

The adventurer readied her weapons once again, prepared to take down all of the mercenaries who she supposed were coming to their colleague's aid.

But only two other inmates cropped up from behind the corner and walked below her. It seemed like they didn't notice her at all, therefore she decided against shooting. Lara didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to herself unless it was necessary.

After several steps the creatures got out of sight behind the corner. Lara waited for a longer moment this time. When she couldn't hear their steps or anything else suspicious anymore, she brought herself to action and finally dropped down on the floor.

"Men, they never look women in the eyes," she commented her victory over the mercenary lightly.

All of the sudden, a human yell came from the distance. It made her turn her head to the direction of the sound.

"Have fun," Lara said quietly to her absent enemy. Then she just turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

Now, when she could finally return to her previous task, a clear determination came back into her eyes.

"I just hope it's not too late," she whispered to herself with a frown on her face.

_Just hold on, Kurtis..._

Lara quickly started making her way to the exit from the complex with concern about the fate of her companion, the Lux Veritatis warrior, readable in her facial expression.

* * *

><p>Her way back to the surface was calmer than she had expected it to be. None of the mutants attacked her any more. She only caught sight of two more of them inside one of the rooms. One of the creatures was simply sitting on a stretcher with its legs bend in knees, slightly rocking back and forth. The other was just walking beside the bed, using a wooden part of its lengthened arm as an staff.<p>

Lara wanted to leave inconspicuously, but the limping mutant seemed like looked right at her, then kept staring and stopped moving completely, but didn't react anyhow else. The British aristocrat hesitantly ignored the uneasy gaze, sneaked around the room and after making sure she's not followed, continued forward.

She briefly wondered whether these mutated people could be still saved, but pushed the thought aside, suspecting she knew the sad answer to that question.

Somehow the adventurer also managed to successfully evade two other mercenaries she chanced upon. The other two were in the way, so Lara did what she had to in order to get rid of them, trying to execute it as quietly as possible.

* * *

><p>Once again, Lara found herself on the cold, empty street. It was still too early in the morning, so the streets were practically deserted. A few lonely figures she passed by didn't pay any special attention to her. Lara was shivering from coldness, but knew what she had to do.<p>

The adventurer spotted a telephone booth in the close distance and ran towards it. Running all the way from the building, she gave herself a moment to catch her breath, leaning against the frame of the booth with the palm of her hand. Then she entered inside.

_At least it's not snowing here._

Only a few moments ago Lara had found out that all communication in the complex had stopped working. She assumed it was probably caused by the discharge from the strange explosion the Sanglyph had given rise to.

Lara picked up the receiver and dialled the number of the police, which was written on the sticker on the machine. She presumed that a bigger group of people, on top of it the police, would surely search through the whole area much faster than herself.

_I hope he will be alright..._ she thought, impatiently waiting for the person on the other side to answer her call.

"Come on, answer it..." Lara whispered into the receiver urgently, nervously tapping her finger.

After the third ringing, her plea was finally heard. After giving the operator, who luckily spoke English fluently, all necessary information they needed and especially stressing the fact about a seriously wounded person, without proper thinking, she made her way away from Strahov surroundings as fast as possible, not wanting to get arrested or being followed by some of the remaining mercenaries.

* * *

><p>After a long, aimless wandering through the empty streets, feeling totally exhausted of everything both mentally and physically, Lara suddenly stopped in her track.<p>

_What am I doing? Why am I running away? There's no one and nothing to fight against anymore. And on top of that, not many things to fight for either._

She glanced at the inactive Chirugai she was now holding, weighted it thoughtfully in her hand, and then looked into the distance for a longer moment.

"I'll go to the police to solve this once and for all," she said firmly, "but before it, I must take care of you." And her sight fell down on the enigmatic disc in her grip once again.


	5. Chapter 5: An Unexpected Encounter

_Hi everyone! I wonder if any of you still remember this story of mine. I'm really sorry about the long wait. :( I hope you will enjoy the chapter anyway.  
><em>

__I would like to thank everyone who has ever reviewed or showed any interest in this ff._ :) I'm still very curious about all of your opinions! Feel free to express them. ;)  
><em>

_A very special_ _thanks goes _again_ to _gyikhu _for beta reading, valuable advice and eternal patience. THANK YOU!_

Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belongs to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters except the original ones who appear in this story.

I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: An Unexpected Encounter<strong>

_Going to the police. What a clever idea[!]_ Lara thought sarcastically.

Right after stepping over the doorsill of the nearest police station in Prague, everything happened fast. Or at least that's how it appeared to Lara now.

After desperately re-telling the same story over at least a hundred times, her name was cleared and after two days she was set free.

The Tomb Raider spent much of those two days in one of the interrogation rooms or in a small, cold and not very clean jail, surrounded and frequently questioned by all those - in her opinion - annoying and ever suspecting detectives for whom she was a completely unreliable person.

Especially the main inspector who flew in from Paris and was in charge of the case of 'Monstrum killings' didn't care about hiding his distrust and contempt at all, being clearly persuaded that Lara was the Monstrum or at least an accomplice, trying to hide behind her aristocratic title. He was striving to deliberately confuse her all the time. She couldn't blame him for it though. Lara knew that most of the early evidence was clearly pointing to her as the murderer. Surely at least in Von Croy's case.

Nonetheless, at the end of the second day she finally heard the first good news in the last days, when being told that some of the discovered evidence from Strahov and Paris together with newly found facts contributed to clearing her name from all accusations regarding the murders committed by the feared serial killer, originally known as the Paris Monstrum.

The fact that there were no known direct witnesses of the gruesome murders helped her too. Therefore, the inspector reluctantly and with an ever-present sour expression informed her that she was free to go, not forgetting to mention that she should leave the detective work to the professionals and not evade the police next time. Lara couldn't miss noticing that the inspector didn't seem to be really convinced about her innocence though.

The truth was that there were still many unanswered questions left.

Lara supposed that her aristocratic status might have worked in her favour too. She assumed that, to the obvious dissatisfaction of the French inspector, the authorities in the Czech Republic and France just didn't want to get into trouble with England for some to her unknown, presumably political reason. So, what had appeared to be an unsolvable issue at the beginning turned out to be different in the end.

Of course she didn't tell them _exactl_y what had happened. A cleverly edited version was enough. With a pretended ignorance in certain parts and played naivety in others, her adapted story about her trying to play an amateur detective to get justice for her deceased friend quite made sense and sounded plausible.

The young adventurer was trying not to be very bothered by the fact that she was deliberately giving false testimony, repeating to herself that it would be better that way. As for her, as for the unaware world.

During her stay at the police station, she once overheard two officers saying that their colleagues did not find anyone alive in the premises of Strahov complex, and no body except Luddick's.

After hearing this information, she considered that not finding Kurtis could mean that either he somehow managed to escape even in his wounded state, or the mercenaries from the fortress, who had disappeared from the place like by a wave of a magic wand, captured him, or his body had got eaten by some ugly experiment like Boaz. Lara involuntarily shivered at the last thought. Or simply, they just didn't find him, considering the fact how huge the whole complex was. In other words, this information was completely useless to her, and told her nothing about the fate of her companion.

She also caught something unintelligible about the police being unable to get into some of the underground levels, but didn't have much chance to think about it because she was dragged to another questioning, and had to concentrate on her testimony.

With her name being cleared, people working at the police station started being much friendlier. From the young officer who was releasing her from the station and, luckily to Lara, didn't like the French inspector very much and was willing to share some information with her, Lara got to know that there hadn't been much time to secure all the evidence because of several explosions that had happened somewhere in lower levels, closely followed by the collapse of some underground floors. Lara concluded that it must have to happen only a few moments after she had left the building. According to the officer's description, their police unit had got only to the part with "_some weird botanical gardens_". The rest of the complex had been inaccessible, for the most part, destroyed.

The cause of these explosions was yet unspecified. The young man indicated that, according to the unverified information, it could have been caused by strategically placed explosives. Lara supposed that it had been the cleaning up under the direction of the mercenary unit, but kept the thought to herself. Kurtis' survival seemed even less likely to her now.

Officially, the recent investigation was indicating that it was a leader of a sect who was most likely responsible for the multiple murder, following some twisted kind of belief requiring human sacrifices for ritualistic purposes.

Lara presumed that some similar kind of words would be surely contained in headlines of newspaper articles for several following days. And they were. To her displeasure, together with her name.

* * *

><p>Lara stretched and yawned in the comfortable hotel bed, relishing the feeling of the soft and clean sheets. A brief look at the clock on the wall told her that she had slept for about ten hours.<p>

_I've definitely deserved a proper sleep._

Not being bothered by the time, the adventurer sighed and relaxed, satisfied with the fact that after taking a long hot shower and eating a delicious food she was feeling much better than in the previous days.

Lara wanted to take a break and sort out her thoughts before she would return to England. But she wasn't really sure what would happen then. Her life had gotten much darker and depressing since her last stay in Egypt.

A part of her soul wanted to return to the life she had led before the events that took place in the hot Egyptian desert, but wasn't sure if it would be even possible after everything what had happened. And now everything appeared even more complicated.

A frown suddenly appeared on the adventurer's face, together with a distant look. A picture of a certain person came to her mind again. Like many times before during the last days. And even to her own surprise, it wasn't the face with worried eyes of Von Croy, the evil glance of Eckhard or even the calculating, calm and cold expression of the Nephilim she knew as Karel. It was the handsome face of her helper.

_Kurtis..._

Was it sadness, pity, guilt or something else what she was feeling? She herself wasn't able to name it.

At the moment Lara felt sorry because he would never again get to taste that feeling of comfort and the deserved peace she was enjoying right now.

_At least not in this world. Because he is most likely dead... And he will never get to know that his father has been avenged, and so his task has been fulfilled,_ a voice in her head told her.

_It's not fair,_ Lara thought.

_But it's not all, is it?_ another small voice in her head asked her.

N_o, probably not. I owe him thanks at least. And his weapon..._

_And is that all?..._ that persistent voice asked her again.

Lara frowned and sighed. "I've wanted to tell him good bye at least," she said into the empty room quietly. _At least to him..._

She looked out of the window at the snowy Prague scenery.

_And?..._

_And maybe..._ Lara shook her head slightly. _Stop it. _She sat up in her bed.

_This must end. I want to get rid of this annoying, oppressive feeling. I'm flying home soon and I want to forget about all of this._

_Really?..._ the voice asked unconvincingly.

She left this question without answer. Instead, she got up and headed towards the window. Now with her arms folded across her chest, she noticed that it started lightly snowing again.

_My gloomy mood has probably nothing to do with him anyway, _she said to herself stubbornly. _I'm just sad because of __Werner's fate, our last argument..._

A light knocking on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Who is it?" Lara asked as she was coming closer.

"Lady Croft?" an unfamiliar man's voice called from behind the doorway. "It's the police."

_"_What the hell,_"_ she growled under her breath quietly. Lara opened the door a crack with narrowed eyes. A young man in a good shape with short brown hair in casual clothes, probably around his thirties was standing there.

"Lady Lara Croft, I presume," he began in a foreign accent. "I'm pleased to meet—"

"And you are?"... she uncompromisingly cut him off.

The man didn't seem to be disconcerted by her apparent hostility at all. "I'm detective Rolland," he continued. "I only have a few questions to you," he said, trying to sound friendly.

"I've already told everything to the police. And to your nice French colleague," she retorted coldly.

"But you haven't told them everything, have you? About the man who was helping you for example... That American..."

Her heart missed a beat, but she didn't let him see her confusion.

_Who is this?..._ she kept asking herself, her suspicion growing.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Lara said plainly.

"It's important. He is a very dangerous man, miss."

"Look _detective_," she stressed the word, "I can't help you. I'm sorry but I'm just on my way out in a minute so... I wish you a nice day," she said as she provided a light false smile.

She tried to close the door, but he put his foot out to prevent it from shutting. Now she noticed that the man was wearing military boots.

_Interesting..._

"You are not going anywhere until you tell me where Trent is," he said calmly. "I need to know it."

"Who the hell are you? Definitely not a police detective," she said, not bothering to sound quiet.

"Don't mess with me and answer," he hissed threateningly, seemingly losing his patience.

Some people talking in the hallway turned heads in their direction.

"I don't know anyone of that name. You are bothering the wrong person. And now, if you excuse me...," Lara said in a calm voice and fixed her eyes on his.

For a while, he was just looking at her as if estimating whether she was lying or not. Lara held his gaze self-confidently without moving away.

"Sure, lady Croft," he said finally, as if nothing had happened at all.

The man let go of the door and got out of her way with a neutral expression. "You'd better be careful outside, miss. The world isn't very save these days." And with that, he made a step back, turned around and left.

_Where have I heard that before?_

Lara was waiting until he got out of her sight, and then closed the door.

_Trent?... Kurtis?... What the hell was this about?..._

She was meant to get to know soon.

* * *

><p>From the outside, the Strahov building appeared similar just like the first time Lara had seen it. Except the fact that now it was surrounded by red and white police tape fluttering in the wind, markedly contrasting with the white snow around, keeping all potential nosey parkers in the respectful distance.<p>

She was wearing more suitable clothes for the cold weather than earlier, now dressed in jeans and a short, warm, black belted coat.

Everything was somehow falling on her in her hotel room, so she decided to go for a walk. By that time, the sky had started darkening, especially because of the gloomy weather.

Originally she had left the hotel just for a walk to go through her thoughts and make some order in it. But her steps hadn't been completely random in the end.

Lara felt like there was one thing she should do before she would left Prague. The adventurer wanted to make sure if there was not anything she and the police had overlooked in the surroundings of the complex. She was hoping for some kind of a note, or perhaps at least a blood stain indicating that Kurtis had gotten out.

After Lara circled the area several times with no avail, she stopped near the building, facing it. She kept her distance from the building, not wanting to meet anyone from the police who could likely still be around, because she concluded that her behaviour could be suspicious to some of them, especially the French inspector.

"What am I even doing here?" she asked herself quietly, even though she knew the answer.

_Probably just to close this another not very happy chapter of my life, _she answered to herself.

Lara wanted to get closure and right now maybe even somehow to pay tribute to her helper who had fought for the right thing as herself. And she couldn't think of a better place where to do that then where he most likely had breathed out for the last time, somewhere beneath the building in front of her.

She knew it was mostly just a matter of luck that she had survived. And the Tomb raider was again realizing that without Kurtis' assistance, things would have probably ended up differently.

_The Nephilim won't rule the world thanks to the two of us. And I'm probably the only one who knows..._

Now, thinking about him, she finally decided to accept that Kurtis didn't survive, and therefore there would be no chance to let him know that his justice had been carried out. Probably in a different way than he had anticipated, but the outcome was what mattered to Lara. The feared Black alchemist was dead.

Earlier, a spontaneous idea about putting flowers somewhere near had flashed through her mind, but she had immediately dismissed it.

_Total silliness. What the hell is wrong with me?!_

After a few more seconds of looking at the building, she took two steps back and sighed, then turned on her heel and made her way back to the hotel.

_Good-bye, another bad memory..._

XXX

The streets were quiet and peaceful, the street lamps creating a soft muffled light illuminating the walls of mostly historical buildings.

It was getting late, and Lara was wondering how much time she had actually spent in front of that building.

_I obviously need a break._

Lara felt like she needed some more time alone to take her mind off things, so she took a longer way back to the hotel, trying to absorb the atmosphere of the city like ordinary people living their everyday lives do, without chasing a serial killer. She was hoping that it could help her to clear her head from her dark mood.

The adventurer continued through the dark alley, starting looking forward to get back to heat.

When Lara turned the corner, she noticed a suspect man further ahead of her, casually leaning against the wall. He shortly glanced in her direction, but then just uninterestedly looked back in front of him and started whistling some melody.

She was wondering what he could be doing there in such a cold. He was wearing just a light jacket, jeans and a cap, and didn't have any dog, luggage or anyone else near him.

_If there is someone who could pose for a description of a thief or a drug dealer, he could pull it off quite nicely, _Lara thought.

She decided to go the other way just to be sure, not wanting to get into any trouble with the police just after having been discharged. She turned left and went that way, but behind the bin in the shadow, another man was hiding. He came out into the muffled light and blocked her way.

Lara now realized that she was completely alone there on the street.

_Just bloody awesome._

She estimated his age around the late forties.

"What do you want? You're in my way," Lara asked impatiently, not showing any hint of fear, her tone practically screaming '_I have a really bad mood_'.

The man seemed to be taken aback by her attitude, but quickly regained his composure.

"All of your money, now!" he barked at her in a heavy Czech accent.

Then she noticed that he held a dangerously looking knife in his hand. The man started closing the distance between them.

_I really don't want to get into trouble again after getting out of it just now..._

She could also hear that the other man from the street was also slowly coming closer, but stopped several yards away, probably guarding the back of his colleague. She shortly glanced back at him and noticed that he had a big knife, too.

_At least they don't have firearms._

"Okay..." she said impatiently and made two quick steps to the attacker.

_You asked for it._

He swung at her, but she caught his hand clutching the knife, twisted it so much that the knife fell out of his hand and then she kicked the man forcefully to the ground. The attacker grunted in pain loudly. Then he started painfully wriggling on the ground, clutching his hand. Lara didn't break the bone, but was not far from it.

When she heard that the other man ran to them, she reached into the back of her waistband for a pistol.

Now she was glad that she had decided to keep this weapon, hidden it before going to the police and then retrieved it later.

In a swift movement, she pulled the gun out, turned around and pointed it in the direction of the coming man.

Lara definitely didn't have any murder in her plan. She just intended to scare them off with the gun and gave them a lesson for attacking her. But she only spotted how the second aggressor fell hard to the ground as if some invisible force knocked him down. And it was exactly what happened.

The knife slid across the pavement up to her so that she could only step on it with her boot without any bigger effort.

Lara almost started to fight an urge to laugh that he tripped on the perfectly flat sidewalk.

_These guys are tragic._

A sudden, strong feeling of someone being behind her started to make her think otherwise.

_The third one?..._

The adventurer quickly turned around and pointed her gun at the supposed third assailant, but instead of seeing a scared face of another burglar, her eyes widened and lips parted in surprise as she could do nothing but incredulously stare into the familiar blue eyes calmly looking back at her.

Then, for a second, the man's gaze moved to the gun in her hands with its barrel pointing right into his face.

Lara certainly hadn't expected to meet him here at this moment. In fact she hadn't expected to see him ever again.

The sight left her speechless at first, unable to move a limb. Her brain clearly registered the man's smirk though, and then the sound of his smooth voice that followed.

"This is getting little old," Kurtis stated self-assuredly, his tone half annoyed and half bored. "Seriously."

* * *

><p><em>Today is Kurtis' birthday! :D The right time for him to appear again, don't you think? ;)<em>


	6. Chapter 6: Busy All Night

_Hello everybody! :) _Finally, here I come with the next update of this story. I'm really sorry that I always make you wait for so long. :/  
><em>_

__I would like to thank you all for your support! I really appreciate it very much. Your reviews and messages make me look forward to uploading something on this site. :D  
><em>_

_Here is the place where I would like to thank_ gyikhu__ again for beta reading and suggestions and advice connected to it. THANK YOU SO MUCH! :) __

Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belongs to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters except the original ones who appear in this story.

I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: Busy All Night<strong>

When Lara recognized that familiar American accent, she had a strange, indescribable feeling.

"Kurtis..." she said his name quietly, still not completely believing her eyes. Her grip on the gun wavered and she slightly lowered it.

_Is it really him? What if Karel..._ the Tomb Raider was asking herself, her mind filled with doubt. _No,_ she assured herself firmly at last, dismissing her worries. _Karel was defeated. He's dead._

Then the whole situation she now found herself in started to make sense to her. The attacker's fall wasn't any accident or mere clumsiness at all. Kurtis 'willingly helped' him to the ground and literally brought the knife to her feet. Lara concluded that her acquaintance must have used the same power by which he had smashed the door at the Louvre or helped her to get away from the arena with mutated Boaz.

Kurtis' voice brought Lara from her thoughts back to the present reality. "I need to talk to you."

She quickly reacted. "But how's that possible? Everything indicated that you were..." she trailed off.

"Dead?" he completed her apparent unfinished question.

"Precisely."

He casually tilted his head. "I thought so too for a while. But it looks like it takes much more to kill me."

"Much more? she asked in disbelief. There was blood almost everywhere."

"It's a long story."

Her eyes narrowed. "Then cut it short."

At the moment the young aristocrat uttered the last word of the sentence, Kurtis noticed that the man Lara had disabled earlier was reaching for his knife. The American took two swift steps to stand behind Lara.

"I'll take this, buddy," he said to the man, then bent down, roughly clenched the man's wrist and yanked out the weapon from his hand.

"You shouldn't wander alone at nights like this," Kurtis said to Lara in a relaxed manner, nodding towards them. Then he began tossing the knife he'd just obtained into the air and catching it. "Prague obviously isn't the safest place for night walks."

_He obviously just loves being a hero. A hero I don't need,_ she thought, irritated by the fact that he didn't bother to answer her question.

"I can take care of myself as you _very_ well know, and as you can see," she replied, tilting her gun slightly, watching him all the time.

Now Lara had time to examine him. He was wearing a leather jacket and jeans stuffed into his army boots. His expression was unreadable like before.

Both now unarmed assailants were meanwhile hastily trying to get on their feet and run away. One of them fell clumsily before getting up and following his comrade.

Lara noticed scared expressions on both men's faces they were sending towards Kurtis, even with much more intensity than to the gun in her hand. She didn't know if she was supposed to feel offended or just impressed by how various impressions he could make on people.

The American's eyes were now firmly fixated on her face, knowing that the attackers won't try anything anymore. But then he remembered his recent encounter with Boaz, and glanced back at the men behind his back. He watched them coldly getting away from his sight, and then turned back to her.

"You're welcome," Kurtis said.

They were left on the street alone. He made a step closer to her. "Put that gun away, would you be so kind?"

Lara glanced at him and then shortly down at the gun she was now grasping loosely in her hands. Then she looked back at him and put the weapon behind the waistband of her jeans on the back.

"I want to know what happened to you in the fortress." The tone of her voice sounded much more demanding now. "I was looking for you and you were nowhere to be found."

"I have some questions on my own, but don't you think that we should have this conversation somewhere more privately? 'Cuz those are kind of... delicate matters."

"Well, I..." she didn't finish her sentence because the sound of a fast approaching car interrupted her. She suspiciously looked into the direction from where the noise was coming from. Right afterwards a police car came from the end of the street and stopped abruptly some distance in front of the two. The lights totally blinded them for a moment. Then they could see a policeman dressed in a standard patrolman uniform get out of the vehicle.

_Late like always,_ Lara thought.

"Officer, I was just attacked by two armed men," she started, making the words sound as if the situation had really endangered her. "They ran that way..." she said, pointing to the direction they fled.

"Drop your weapons! And all of them! Both of you!" the policeman shouted and aimed his gun at them, taking cover behind the opened door of his car.

Lara instinctively thought about getting away, but realized that there was no need trying to escape anymore. She assumed that it was just some kind of misunderstanding.

_Maybe he didn't get updated orders._ _Probably just some informational noise._

She also noted that getting away from him unharmed would be very tricky because the policeman was most likely standing there and pointing at them with a fully loaded gun. At last, in the corner of her eye she noticed that her companion seemed to stay coldly calm.

Kurtis looked at Lara with an annoyed frown. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"Me?"

Lara inwardly scolded herself for not considering even for a second that the policeman could be there to arrest Kurtis for some serious crime.

_I know nothing about him, after all._

The words of the man who had visited her in the hotel in the morning also echoed through her head. But she still quickly managed to find an icy answer for the American.

"Maybe it's an escort for you. The police usually don't like having corpses running freely around."

_And neither have I,_ she thought, a still fresh memory about very alive faces of two people — the newspaper reporter Luddick and the Parisian gang boss Bouchard — she saw after their deaths running through her head.

Unaware of Lara's disturbing thoughts, Kurtis smirked at her comment. "Funny."

"Shut up both of you! Put that weapons on the ground and step back! Now!"

"Okay,..." the adventurer said in a calm voice as she was carefully putting her gun on the sidewalk beside the knife of one of the attackers. Then she backed away.

"How I love overactive bored cops," Kurtis muttered as he let go of the knife he was holding. It tinkled on the pavement. Then he slowly put out his own weapon, Boran X, from his shoulder holster and followed Lara's example.

"I guess that we can't talk to your more competent boss, can we?" he asked boldly. Then he waited what would happen next.

_What a great tactic. Make him angry_, Lara inwardly rolled her eyes.

"Officer, we've done nothing wrong," the British woman started reasoning. "We were just—"

The policeman put out something she couldn't see clearly from his pocket. "Put them on him."

"Excuse me?" she looked at him dumbfounded.

The man threw a pair of handcuffs on the ground in front of Lara.

Lara frowned in confusion and growing suspicion. "Officer...?"

"I see," Kurtis said with a sigh. "So this is what it's about," he muttered under his breath. "I think we'd better fulfill his wish," he said to Lara aloud.

The Tomb Raider gave him a doubtful look.

"Come on. Go ahead," the American hold out his hands and shrugged as if he didn't care at all.

"What kind of game are you trying to play here?" Lara whispered as she snapped the cuffs on his wrists with a frown.

Kurtis' only answer was a wink.

Lara realized that somehow she didn't like the thought of letting him out of her sight again without getting at least some of her answers.

_I hope you know what you're doing._

"You," the man in the uniform pointed his gun at Lara. "On your knees."

"What the hell is going on here right now?" she said, not bothering to sound respectful anymore.

"I said kneel. Keep your hands behind your head and shut the hell up. I don't care about you right now, but it can change."

Lara was now sure that something was definitely odd — and this was no ordinary arrest —, and started wondering why the policeman's voice started to sound somehow familiar to her.

Then the man tugged his weapon at Kurtis. "Get into the back," he nodded towards the car.

"On my way," the American said.

As Kurtis planned — with the use of his extraordinary power of the Lux Veritatis order — the handcuffs unexpectedly opened with a click. As he was passing by the man, he swiftly turned around and managed to punch away the gun from his hand. Then the American hit him, grabbed both his hands and by a martial art hold pinned him down on the bonnet of the car.

"You are not any hard working cop, are you?" Kurtis asked. Then the American leaned his head to the man's ear. "You haven't done your preparatory homework properly," he said more quietly. "You clearly don't know everything about me."

"What the hell are you doing?" Lara asked Kurtis angrily. "This is clearly just some misunderstanding. We would explain it somehow."

"Before you start shouting even more at me, ..." he said with a serious expression. She was somehow taken aback by his calm voice. "Have you noticed his gun?"

Lara couldn't see the man, nor the type of the weapon on the ground in the faint light the further street lamp offered, very well.

"You want to kill him because he's not wearing proper equipment?" Lara asked as she started closing the distance between her and the two men.

_Is it...? A Scorpion X? I got one from Luddick, and other one was... in the fortress._ Then the realization hit her. It was not standard weaponry of the regular police units.

She immediately picked up her weapon and aimed it at the man. She also collected the knife and then threw Kurtis his own gun who easily caught it with one hand. Somehow he still managed to hold the man in a secure grip with his other hand.

The man kept struggling, so Kurtis slammed him on the car with even more force. Because of the impact of Kurtis' action, the man's police cap fell of his head, so now Lara could see his face clearly.

"Rolland?" she stated, not sounding surprised at all.

"You know him?" Kurtis looked at her with a puzzled frown.

"He claimed to be a detective, asking for you this morning," she nodded her head towards the false policeman. "He didn't play his role very persuasively though. Regardless, I obviously couldn't tell him anything about your whereabouts since I knew nothing," she didn't forget to add the accusing note.

The American took a breath to answer, but the man, now known to them both as Rolland, tried to slip out of Kurtis' firm hold again.

"You are practically pleading me to kill you right now," Kurtis hissed and pushed his Boran X further into the side of the man's neck.

"No!" Lara screamed with a slight panic in her voice.

Kurtis come to a halt and looked at Lara with confusion written in his face.

"I've just got released from jail," she explained. "And I'm really not planning to visit it again anytime soon. And I bet that you are not interested in such a trip either."

Kurtis glanced back at the man and considered the options the situation was offering. He didn't want to get into any unnecessary problems either.

"Let's see if you exemplary have all accessories you should have with you," he said eventually.

The American tapped him, and the corner of his lips turned into a wicked smirk when he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a small syringe from the man's chest pocket. Kurtis removed the lid with his teeth, and without hesitating, injected the liquid into the man's biceps.

"Have sweet dreams."

"Trent, we'll get you sooner or later, you bastard," the man hissed through his teeth. "You well damn know we will. It's just a matter of time. We will... you'll..." the false policeman was unable to finish his following threat as his head limply fell on his chest.

Kurtis let his body collapse on the ground. Then the American dragged him towards the vehicle and put him inside on the back seats, not bothering to do that with much care. The he kicked the door shut, not wanting to leave his fingerprints on the car.

"Don't worry, he will sleep at least for twelve hours from now. When the police find him, he will appear just heavily drunk. A clever technology, right?"

"How did you know?"

"Quite a lot previous encounters with these guys," he said plainly after a short pause, not showing any hint of emotion. "I'm kind of popular in these Cabal circles, you know."

"This man didn't seem to be as capable as those I had met in Paris or here in Prague, though," Lara pointed out.

He shrugged. "I guess that those more competent ones were given more important tasks."

"Mercenaries. How I hate them," Lara growled, thinking about all troubles that people of similar kind caused her in the last days. This remark didn't go unnoticed by Kurtis, but he chose not to react to it. He had his reasons for it.

"Just to be sure, I recommend you to leave Prague."

"I'm leaving tomorrow. I just hope that I won't have any unwanted visit at home," she added.

"That's unlikely. Nothing really connects me to you," he immediately regretted his words, realizing how harsh it sounded. She didn't seem to notice it at all though.

"And just to let you know," then he continued, "I wasn't intending to kill him. Even though it would be easier and more effective."

"Where were we before?" Lara asked, returning to the previous subject.

"I was asking if you preferred to have a talk in some more peaceful place." Kurtis repeated his original suggestion.

"It's a good idea. I don't want anyone eavesdropping either." _Those annoying journalists and reporters can be everywhere,_ she thought.

"You agree with me without a fight? I must admit I'm kind of surprised. It almost seems to me that you agree with me only after pointing your gun into my face," he said, referring to their second encounter in the bio-dome and their today's reunion.

She narrowed her eyes. "I want serious answers only. No stupid remarks."

"Order," he saluted with his two fingers.

Lara wasn't sure if he was just mocking her or being serious, so she decided to let it be. _I'm too tired for this._

Now she noticed how tired he looked. _I wonder what he was up to for those three days..._

"Would you mind going into my room at the hotel?" Kurtis asked.

"No, I wouldn't.

"It's not far."

"Where is it _exactly_?"

"Three or four streets that way," he vaguely pointed into the opposite direction from the hotel she was currently staying at.

A police siren could be heard in the distance.

"My hotel is closer. Let's go there."

"Fine with me." Kurtis took a few steps, reached down and picked up the other knife from the ground. Then he also gathered up Rolland's gun and the handcuffs, and put both items into his pouch on the back.

"It can come in handy," he said, reacting to Lara's questioning look with slightly lifted eyebrows. "Also you surely don't want to leave the cuffs _here_ with your beautiful fingerprints all over it, do you?"

Lara was pleasantly surprised at him not making any inappropriate joke, and concluded that maybe he took her advice to his heart.

She simply ignored his comment and was about to set out, but stopped since Kurtis didn't move an inch, his sight focused on the blade left in his hand. Lara heard him clear his throat.

"Just one thing. Eckhardt, ... I suppose that you are one hundred percent sure that he is..."

"Dead, yes," she stated resolutely with a nod.

"Good. I just needed to hear that from you." Trent looked thoughtfully into the distance for a second.

She watched him closely. Although Lara was not sure, she thought that maybe she caught a glimpse of some deep, painful emotion in his face for a blink of an eye. But then it was gone as if his unemotional mask had never faltered.

After the moment he spoke. "Then... shall we go?"


	7. Chapter 7: Questions and Answers

_Hello everyone, it's been awhile! I'm very sorry about another long pause. (Likely not the last one.) :/ But I hope that this longer chapter (the longest I've written so far!) can make it up to you at least a little bit. I hope you'll like it! :)  
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_My sincere thanks goes to everybody who has showed me their support in some way! :) And also to everyone else who took their time to read my work. :) _

_The most special thanks and my endless gratitude goes once again to _gyikhu _for beta reading __and everything else.  
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Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belongs to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters except the original ones who appear in this story.

I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Questions and Answers<strong>

They were walking in silence at first, both in their own thoughts, until Kurtis spoke.

"I'm glad to see you're okay," he said.

"I could say exactly the same thing," Lara answered without looking at her companion.

"I really didn't want to let you face him alone in there."

She turned her head to him this time. "There wasn't much other choice." Then she looked back to the ground ahead of her. "It appeared to be the most logical solution at that moment."

"Yeah, probably. But still..."

"We are here," Lara announced in front of one of the higher buildings as she reached for the handle, opening the main door.

Then they both entered.

As the pair was passing by the reception, Lara, followed by Kurtis, nodded at the receptionist on duty. A blonde-haired woman around her thirties curiously lifted her stare from the book she was reading and let her eyes dwell on the American, who ignored her look, for a longer moment. Then she returned back to her reading.

With Lara leading the way, they went up the staircase to the second floor where she stopped in front of one of the doors. Kurtis leaned his shoulder against the wall beside and watched the British woman reaching into her pocket for the key and then inserting it into the lock. The door opened.

"Come in," she said politely.

The American entered the room and closed the door behind them.

She switched on the light, took off her coat and put it on the backrest of the armchair. Then she motioned Kurtis to take a seat opposite to her.

"So," she started as they sat down. "I suppose that the main reason why you want to speak with me is that you want to know how it went with Eckhardt, right?"

Kurtis was looking at her for a while. To Lara, it appeared as if he was about to add something else, but then he just nodded.

"Yeah, basically," he said in a neutral voice.

_Maybe it was just my imagination,_ Lara thought.

"I will tell you about it. But first, I want to hear what happened to you after our ways parted. And _especially_, how did you manage to get away from there. There was so much blood..."

Kurtis sighed. "Alright. I'll start then." He clasped his hands together and slightly leaned forward in his seat, resting his forearms on his legs. "Well, the certain information about the Cabal's scientists developing some kind of a special substance in the Strahov laboratories got to me earlier. It was connected to their Nephilim and immortality research. Naturally, it was meant for the use for their soldiers, or possibly all people working for Eckhardt and the Cabal. Originally it was supposed to improve the efficiency of their military force. More specifically, give them more strength, speed and endurance. Its development was still in progress. So, so far they accomplished that it _only_ helps in healing injuries. Even normally lethal ones. Not completely, they didn't get there yet, but it was helping significantly. There weren't even many samples of it existing. I managed to find it and use it."

Lara only nodded.

"I was weak. The wound I got from the fight with that goddamn bug woman was serious. I could hardly drag myself outta there. I couldn't follow you."

"I see."

"To be honest," he carried on, "I'm not very happy about being kept alive by something made under Eckhard's command, but... Well. The damage has been done. I needed to make sure that his disgusting existence was ended."

"How did you know that it was... _safe_?" she asked carefully.

"I got information that many tests took place and some of their men even used it themselves, and it worked without any side effects in long-term time. And I didn't have much to lose, did I?"

"Probably not."

"On top of it, the main base of it was only remotely based on the Nephilim DNA, but made from a scratch. So, it was a relatively safe option."

"Those are very detailed information," Lara stated.

"I've dedicated quite a lot time to this matter."

The young woman couldn't shake off the feeling that he was not telling her everything, but she dismissed the thought.

_I'm probably just being paranoid._

"And then?"

"Then?" he repeated. "Well, as soon as it was possible I was looking for you."

"That's not what I mean. You said that it only helps in healing. And now you are sitting here as if nothing happened."

"Well..." the American paused for a moment, as if there was something he was hesitating to tell her about. He grimaced and tilted his head, clearly considering what information he was willing to share with her at this point.

"You've surely noticed that some things around me are not _completely_ normal, right?"

"I have. And? You can heal yourself?"

"Kind of. Or better said, something like that."

Lara lifted her eyebrows in question.

"Let's just say that I know a way how to get more, well, you could say energy, when needed. It made the healing process faster, and visibly more effective. But it still lasted for the most of those days we haven't seen each other. And I'll be left with another pretty scar."

She cast her eyes down.

"May I?" Kurtis prepared his lighter and a cigarette.

"What do you think?" Lara asked with a stern expression and voice.

He sighed, irritated. "Okay..." he said and reluctantly put both objects back into the front pocket of his jacket. "So?"

"So what?" she looked at him in puzzlement.

"You went after Eckhardt, and...?"

"Okay. Well,..." she took a deep breath. "You can relax. He won't hurt anyone ever again. The Shards worked on him and the Sleeper was destroyed. As far as I know it's over. The Cabal has no reason to exist anymore. It all ended."

"Could you expand on it a little bit?"

"Of course. After we split up, I followed Eckhardt into his lab. Naturally I had to overcome some traps to get there. Then I managed to obtain the third Shard. When I finally caught up with him, he was finishing the preparations for awakening the Sleeper and had the Sanglyph already completed. But I still got there in time. When he noticed me, he kept babbling something about how no one can stop him and so on." Lara left out the Black Alchemist's remark about the Lux Veritatis on purpose, supposing that Kurtis would prefer not to hear it. "He was too sure of himself," she carried on, "thinking that I am no threat to him even with the Periapt Shards. He wasn't thinking very highly of me and it got me angry," she said, trying to light the gloomy atmosphere at least a little bit. Unsuccessfully.

"Anyway," Lara continued, realizing it was not the best time for jokes. "After he saw I had the Shards, we started fighting. He set up some kind of a barrier around the arena similar to one where I left you, and started attacking me with a strange energy. I quickly realized that basically I just had to be very careful not to get hit by that power too often. It was quite painful. Eckhardt was also creating his clones, or probably better said something like holograms I guess. Of course they were dangerous too. But there was a way how to overcome it all. With a good tactic. The rest was work of guns and ammunition. Somehow I managed to evade most of his attacks and then got close enough to him to use the Shards."

Kurtis showed no emotion during her monologue. He was sitting with his head slightly bowed, his eyes fixed on the floor all the time.

"And that's what I did. One by one, every time I got the chance during that tough fight. The first one, the second one, and then I... he... I... I..." she stammered. She cleared her throat and slightly shook her head.

_I think it would be better if I leave out some details. For his own good._

"Used the third," Lara picked up where she left off. "And..." she paused for a moment, "it worked. After that I used the Sanglyph to destroy the Sleeper. Then everything blew up in some weird light energy. The Sanglyph was apparently a very powerful artifact."

The American was now carefully observing her. "Is that all?"

"Yes," she answered with determination, aware of the fact she had been actually lying, not wanting him to notice it.

_It's over. Why complicate things? It doesn't matter anymore anyway,_ she told to herself.

"Well, after that I willingly went to the police. As you can see, they let me go in the end."

He kept watching her closely for a longer moment, as if analyzing her face. She calmly held his gaze.

"Right," he said, still not taking his eyes off her.

Starting to feel uneasy with his penetrating and searching gaze, Lara spoke again. "At the police station I got to know that some explosions took place in the fortress. I guess that mercenaries cleaned up their mess like that."

He lowered his gaze. "Yeah, that fits," he muttered.

After a minute of silence, Lara added: "Without the Shards, it would have been a short fight with a clear outcome. Eckhardt was indeed a very powerful enemy."

Kurtis was thoughtfully looking down at his clasped hands for a second and then let out a deep breath. "Okay," he said more to himself then to her and after a short pause looked back up at her. "My Chirugai?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"My weapon. I thought you'd know," he said matter-of-factly.

"I see. You mean the thing you almost beheaded me with at the Louvre. Of course I do know," Lara said sarcastically. "How could I forget?" she muttered at last.

"Fine. Could you give it back to me?"

"Well, I..." she started as she looked aside and nervously shifted in her seat.

He was looking into nothingness for a moment, concentrating to feel the unique connection he had with his trusty weapon. Then he looked back at her with a deep frown on his face. "Where is it? You have it, right?... Lara?" he said her name more strongly, with hints of nervousness in his voice.

Lara oddly realized that it was the first time she heard him pronounce her first name. "I..." she started again, not sure how to continue. "I don't have it with me."

"You didn't leave it back there, did you? Just don't tell me you've lost it or sold it or somethin'," he said, irritated.

"No. And not exactly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked impatiently, his frown growing.

"I sent it by mail to England, so the police wouldn't get their hands on it." Lara let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

His eyes widened and he gave her a look of total disbelief. "You did _what_?"

"Hell, I know how many people were killed by it in the Strahov," Lara said in defence, expecting him to explode with rage any second. Rightfully.

"You sent a hundreds of years old weapon by mail?!" he shouted, agitated, seemingly still not fully processing what she had just said. He stood up and paced to calm down. "Geez," he rubbed his face. "Let an aristocrat do something important. And top of it, an English _lady_," he muttered.

The last remark made Lara jump from her seat. "Excuse me?!" her voice also grew significantly louder. "That English lady saved your ass by exchanging the painting for you, defeated Eckhardt and then was searching for you in Strahov maybe even for hours and you say this?!"

He took a breath and wanted to react, but she didn't let him speak.

"You should be grateful," she said coldly. "I couldn't have known how many people you decapitated with it and I guess you wouldn't be very happy if the police got it. On top of it, I had enough murders on my account by that time already, and didn't feel the need to add yours as well."

"Okay. I see," Kurtis said in a peaceful tone.

"That's all?" she asked, clearly taken aback by his now again perfectly calm and controlled voice.

"Yeah, I understand your reasoning. You probably did the right thing. Thanks."

That left Lara speechless for a moment. "You are welcome," she said unsurely at last.

"And calm down. I didn't say that much."

"I am calm."

"Right. From now on I will remember that this is your calm state."

She shook her head with a sigh. "Look, it should be in England within a week, more or less, so you can just..." she slightly threw up her hands and looked out from the window.

"Then I guess I'll see you in England," Kurtis said and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Lara called out after him.

He looked at her questioningly.

"Do you want to stay for a drink?"

"You want _me_ to stay for a drink?" he asked in bewilderment. "Like really?"

"What's so surprising about it?"

"Well..." Kurtis put on a smug expression as he sat back down and sprawled against the backrest of the armchair.

"You are the only one I can talk about all this," Lara continued, unamused by his overacting.

"Ah, this..." Kurtis said with obviously faked disappointment in his voice as he sat exactly as before. "You were supposed to talk to the police, weren't you?"

"Like I could tell them everything. And on top of that, they are not allowed to drink at work, you know."

"Got it."

"And I didn't want to end up in a madhouse," she noted as she headed for the small cabinet. She took out two glasses and a bottle.

"Is red wine is okay? It should be since I noticed that you were enjoying it in the Café metro," she said, putting the glasses on the small table between them.

"Back then I thought it's gonna be my last one." Kurtis looked at her searchingly. "You're observant," he said without any hint of sarcasm in his voice.

She sat back down and started filling the glasses. "I'm still kind of—"

"Confused about everything?" he finished for her.

She looked at him and put the bottle on the table. "Yes. Pretty much."

"I know the feeling."

"Care to enlighten me?"

"I have no idea why you're so sure I know everything. What exactly do you wanna know?"

"You can start with your extraordinary powers for example." She took a gulp and looked at him.

He chuckled. "We don't know each other for that long." He comfortably leaned against the backrest. "For you to know all of my 'specialities', you know," he said with an arrogant smirk, clearly enjoying the double meaning tone.

"You mean that seriously? Such a show-off? The way you behave doesn't really scream 'shy guy' to me. Really not. And just let me mention that we didn't know each other at all for you to touch me like that back at the Louvre either."

He smirked. "Ah, that. Please don't hold a grudge against me because of that. It was just a too good opportunity to be wasted. I just couldn't help it," he said lightly.

"Well, you should learn to resist temptations in your life, or you will get into trouble soon."

"_That_ is someone else's speciality," he muttered quietly and took a sip.

Lara sent him an angry look.

"C'mon," he said quickly. "You didn't look like someone who would get a shock from that."

She narrowed her eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, for example, in Paris you were asking around every single person including me. That's not something an overly shy type of person would do. Definitely not your case."

"It was necessary for me to gain information and—"

"Just forget it," he said and dismissingly waved his hand. "You know what? We could make a deal. One question for one full answer. Are you in?"

"Deal," she said simply.

"Ladies go first."

"Okay, then tell me about your weapon," Lara spoke without hesitation.

"Alright. This gun is—" he started, reaching for his firearm.

"I didn't mean your pistol," she interrupted him.

He let his hand drop down.

"I must admit I'm interested in that, too. I've never seen this exact type of gun before. I guess it's custom made or at least modified. But since I can ask one question only, I want to know more about the disc that almost beheaded me at the Louvre."

He grinned. "You obviously can't forget about our little Louvre episode."

"It's hard to forget a near death experience. Even though I'm kind of used to it, it doesn't happen often that my head is almost rolling on the floor of a famous museum for more than once in a single day..."

"I wasn't referring to this part of our encounter."

"I was. Because there was nothing else worth mentioning."

"Ouch. You've just hurt my feelings."

"I seriously doubt it. And stop talking like there was ever something between us."

"There was."

"It seems to me that you are not used to drink alcohol. It was just the strange behaviour of your kleptomaniacal hands. Nothing else. Nothing important. Nothing to think about. Just like I said. Nothing worth mentioning."

He smiled cockily as if saying 'I know you enjoyed it'.

She frowned at him in return.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop that." He held up his hands in surrender. "Just don't start to be calm again," he added.

Lara frustratingly shook her head and looked aside.

"Look, telling you about it basically means the same thing as talking about my powers. And I'm more than sure that you realize that very well. Trying to outsmart me?"

She breathed in to say something, but he continued.

"But fine. Since I've suggested this our little game, I guess I should tell you something about it. It's called the Chirugai. It's one of ancient weapons of the Lux Veritatis. Like the Periapt Shards. As you've probably figured out, I can move it and use it telekinetically."

"How?"

"It's hard to explain exactly. It's connected to my mind somehow. Only a Lux Veritatis member can properly control it, and it's possible only after training."

"Was it difficult to learn to use it?"

"It wasn't easy. And it takes _a lot_ of time. It's a long process. In terms of years."

"What is it made of? I guess it's not just some common type of metal, is it?"

"As far as I know, the material it's made of is very rare. It was gained from a meteorite alloy."

She nodded.

"I guess that's basically all I can say about it."

"Are there more of them?" she asked.

He slightly narrowed his eyes, and hesitated for a moment. "It's... possible," he said neutrally, studying her face.

"Okay," she nodded again, visibly satisfied with the answers. "Your question?"

"Can I ask whatever I want?"

"That was our deal," Lara stated. "Within the boundaries of good manners of course," she added quickly.

"Right," he grimaced. "What's hiding behind your 'personal reasons' that got you into this mess?"

The hint of a slight smile on her face disappeared immediately. She briefly paused. "My friend was killed."

"That professor...?" he asked and waited for her to continue.

"Yes," she said quietly. "He was my friend. A good friend but..." she took a deep breath and then continued. "But we weren't on best terms recently." Her voice slightly quivered. She cleared her throat to hide her weakness, persuading herself that it had nothing to do with the anxious feeling inside her. "When Eckhardt killed him, I mean—" she quickly stopped herself before she said something she didn't want him to know.

_Too late starting with that now._

"When he died..." she swallowed and paused for a moment. "A moment before it happened we had been arguing. It wasn't nice." She lifted her eyes and looked at him. "I thought you knew. The papers were full of it."

"I've just heard that Eckhard killed some professor and the police was blaming you. I didn't know he was a friend of yours."

"Did you think that I would undergo _all of this_ because of someone I hardly knew?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. I thought you would take it simply as something like 'the search of truth' or 'let's get the murderer' or something like that."

"A long time ago... maybe," she said more to herself that to him, looking thoughtfully into nothingness.

"You alright?" Kurtis asked.

"I'm fine. Now you can tell me about the gun," she said, quickly trying to change the topic.

He unholstered his weapon and weighted it in his hand. "You've guessed right, it's custom made. A prototype. You really couldn't have seen it anywhere before. It's quite effective and in my life often very useful. I've created it myself. It uses High Impact 9mm ammo. Named it Boran X."

"Can I take a look?" she asked and slightly outstretched her hands toward the object.

"Hmm." He looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Only if you promise you won't try to endanger me with it."

She looked at him a little bit playfully. "I promise."

He smiled ever so slightly and handed the gun to her, the handle first.

She was examining the object with admiration. "Impressive. You seem to be really skilful. It's a nice piece. That reminds me," she looked him directly in the eyes, "you owe me two pistols." She handed the Boran X back to him. "And that's not all."

He grimaced and took the weapon back from her, putting it back into the shoulder holster. "Maybe I will make it up to you someday in the future. But right now, I really need to have this beauty with me. Which means I can offer you only one gun right now. And drawing paintings is not really my thing either. Sorry 'bout that."

"I will leave it. For now."

"Thank for you indulgence, Lady Croft."

"You're welcome, Mr. Trent. It's your turn now. Shoot."

"Why were you looking for me?"

She was a bit taken aback by his choice of question, but still managed to react quickly. "Enough people died because of all of this already, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I can't argue with that, but that doesn't really answer my question."

"Since I got into this mess, everyone around me just kept dying. I wanted that at least one good thing would come out of it."

"You did a good thing. Eckhardt is dead. The evil he and his group brought is gone thanks to you. Isn't it more than enough?"

"Destroying evil is a good thing, but it's still just destroying. Saving someone's life is about something totally different."

"Well, you destroy evil to save lives, don't you?"

"That's true, but it's different for me when I know the concrete person."

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Probably."

"And, I just somehow thought that you didn't deserve to die."

To Lara's confusion, he looked very amused. "Where did you get _that_? You couldn't have known that. You still can't."

"You're right. But you saved my life. And I thought that you deserved to know at least that your quest had been fulfilled. I thought you simply had a right to know that Eckhardt is dead, and not only because of your father. I thought that you should know it also as the last member of the Lux Veritatis. That's who you are, aren't you? The last one."

"I thought you'd figure it out."

"How did you manage to escape from the Cabal and survive till now?"

"It's a really long story. A long and dark story."

"And I guess you are not into telling me it now...?"

"Bingo."

"Maybe some other day you could tell me about it."

"Maybe. But I think you've had enough, with all this stuff and everything for some time now. Your next question?"

"Would have you come back for me to the airlock in the Strahov if I hadn't had the Shard with me there?"

"You don't have to believe me, but I would have."

"Why?"

"Well, in case I wouldn't have succeeded in killing Eckhardt, I wouldn't have wanted to let you die there, like that. By Eckhardt or the Cabal's hands, or by hunger and thirst. I knew you were innocent. It just wouldn't have been right."

"I take it."

"Why did you exchange the painting for my life?" he asked right away.

"We were a team. I'm not used to leaving people behind. That's one of the worst forms of betrayal in my eyes."

"I don't really agree with that decision, by the way. Just to let you know."

"Luckily it wasn't up to you back then and no one asks you about your opinion now."

He smirked. "You know, you are doing great for what you just went through last days."

"It's not the first time I've encountered something... extraordinary. That's all."

"No offence, but it's kinda funny that it was someone like you who ended all this and finished the task given so many centuries ago. Someone who got into this just by accident. It's like a big slap from fate, or whatever it is. Not that I believe in it, but... Some things are often too weirdly obvious for them to be just a pure coincidences. Like this one," he said, rubbing his tired face. "What an irony."

"Maybe. But you are wrong. It ended by our hands, not just mine. As much as I don't want to admit it, I most likely wouldn't have been able to follow through with it to the end."

"You don't have to console me. I don't need any psychological nursing. I'm far from an emotional breakdown. I assure you."

_Lucky you. I wish I could say the same,_ she thought sadly.

"I'm definitely not trying to do that. I don't think you need it. And on top of it, it's not my style to do anything like that."

"Pity. Now thinking about it, a nurse uniform could quite suit you."

Her eyes narrowed. "You are getting on thin ice, Trent," she said icily.

"Yeah, seems like it. The highest time for me to go. It's late." He finished his glass and stood up.

It made Lara automatically rise from her seat too.

"I should probably thank you," Kurtis said.

"There's no need for it. I mainly wanted to avenge my friend. And it's good in general that someone like Eckhardt is not walking on this world anymore, so..."

"Yeah, you're definitely right in this one."

This time it was Lara who extended her hand towards him. "Thanks for helping me get away from Boaz and enabling me to go on with our task... of avenging the people we cared about."

He took her hand and shook it. Then they somehow reluctantly let go. The pair went to door and stopped in front of it.

Lara cleared her throat. "Should I write you my address so you would know where to collect your disc?" she asked.

"I will find it. And you. You're quite famous now."

"As you wish. Bye then," she opened the door. "For now."

"See ya later," he said with a wink and left the room.

She shook her head in slight amusement, catching herself smiling again after a long time, and closed the door behind him.

_Who are you really, Kurtis Trent?_ Lara thought as she walked over to the window and watched him leaving the hotel.

In front of the building Kurtis seemingly looked up right at her and saluted her just as in the Strahov fortress. Then he walked away along the street.

The gesture left Lara wondering if he could actually see her standing behind the curtain in the other room with the lights turned off, even though she was sure that he couldn't.


	8. Chapter 8: Tell Me Baby

_Hello everyone,_

_I'm finally here with another update. :) First, let me thank you all very much for the support! It keeps me going! :) :) :)  
><em>

__I hope you won't be disappointed_. I realize that the latest chapters are somewhat chatty, but things will start to move pretty quickly from now on! ;)_

_Once again,_ gyikhu_ kindly helped me _with polishing_ the chapter. THANK YOU SO MUCH! :)_

Just a small note:  
>I'm aware that the song <em>Tell Me Baby<em> by _Red Hot Chili Peppers_ hinted in this chapter is from the year 2006. (The story takes place in 2002.) Please forgive me this little time discrepancy. I've just thought it would be a good idea to use it. :D  
>(Obviously, the song doesn't belong to me.)<p>

Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belong to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters except the original ones who appear in this story. Neither I own any plots from Tomb Raider.

I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Tell Me Baby<strong>

After Lara woke up in the following morning, she packed up the little things she had with her and prepared to set out for the Prague Ruzyně International Airport. The adventurer was pleasantly surprised to find out she had enough money left to buy an air ticket to London and even to get to the airport by taxi.

During the morning her thoughts often wandered to her American colleague. Lara still couldn't decide what to really think about Kurtis Trent. She concluded that he had at least two personalities in him which she had got to know. One of them was cocky, arrogant and sometimes very irritating. But that other one was brave, somehow kind and seemed to have a strong sense of fairness. Lara mainly based her latter assumption on the fact that he had been risking his life - and almost died - to stop the Cabal and their evil plans which could have had a very negative impact on the whole world with all people living in it. She knew that his main target was to avenge the death of his father. Nonetheless, the American had helped her from the arena with Boaz and allowed her so to go after Eckhardt. His act had told her that he was also taking more important facts into consideration. He had expressed himself that he aimed for justice, not revenge. And Lara believed his words.

All in all, Lara came to a conclusion that she couldn't blame Kurtis for having something like a split personality. She guessed his life also couldn't be easy. The adventurer also shortly wondered what he could possibly say about her after that short time they had spent in each other's company. Probably something similar.

The young British woman little hoped that maybe she would get a chance to find out something more about him when he would visit her at home in England. The whole history of the Lux Veritatis order intrigued her and so did his extraordinary abilities. On the other hand, she wasn't sure if it wouldn't be easier just to try to forget about all events connected to the Black Alchemist and simply not to talk about them in the future. But the Tomb Raider knew well that it was impossible to delete that chapter of her life completely. Just like some other things she had gone through and wanted to forget, such as the sensitive chapter concerning Egypt. That one kept following and haunting her.

The adventurer picked up her backpack and took one last short glance at the part of the room where she and Kurtis had been talking last night. Then she left the hotel room, not planning to return to this (to her, cold and dark) city anytime soon.

_XXX_

During the ride in the taxi, she politely refused to chat with the English speaking driver - who didn't seem to mind - and was thoughtfully watching the passing-by scenery. Now she came to realize how tired she had become since Werner's fateful phone call pleading for her help. For the first time since this dark adventure started, Lara also recognized that she was really looking forward to get home, back to her familiar surroundings.

* * *

><p>Once the British aristocrat got to the Prague airport, she arranged her flight to London. After checking-in, she got to the area with plenty of restaurants and various duty-free shops. Lara still had some spare change left and realized she was hungry. A brief look at the clock told her there was still quite much time left until the gate for her flight would open and the plane would take off, so she decided to spend that remaining while in the small café that caught her eye. The adventurer chose one of free tables and ordered a warm toast with ham and cheese together with a cup of black tea for breakfast.<p>

While eating, Lara was trying to imagine her return home and was thinking about her intended rest planned for several following days. But she had no idea what she would do afterwards. In addition to the bad memories of her current trip, the emotional wounds from Egypt were still present, and she didn't feel ready to get back to the once virtually carefree tomb raiding yet.

For a minute she thoughtfully listened to the hushed sound of the music playing in the background and realized that it had a calming effect on her. She was watching people around her for a moment, thinking about their unawareness of what had happened during the last days. Groups, families, pairs, individuals. All of them busy with their shopping, eating, talking, or just waiting and preparing for their incoming flights.

_They know nothing at all. But it's probably a good thing,_ she thought, momentarily looking at a couple with two small laughing children.

Lara was just about to finish her cup of tea when a man's voice interrupted her trail of thoughts.

"Would you let a stranger get you a drink, lady?"

She was automatically ready to give some polite, yet clear and resolute answer to the man that she was definitely not interested and didn't want to be bothered, but instead of an unknown face a familiar sight greeted her. Again.

"Kurtis," she stated.

_I wonder what brings you here,_ she thought ironically, not really surprised by his presence.

"I know you still have some time before your plane starts boarding, by the way," Trent added as he sat opposite to her, not waiting for any form of her approval.

The British woman was curiously observing him. "Everyone makes exceptions from time to time," she responded to his original suggestion with a slight shrug.

"What about a coffee for a change?" he asked, eyeing her now almost empty cup on the table.

"A good idea."

A waitress with a wide smile on her face came over to their table. "What can I get you, sir?" she twittered.

Kurtis ordered two cups of coffee and turned his attention back to Lara after the waitress wrote down the order and left.

"Don't you want something to eat?" Lara asked politely.

"I'm not hungry."

"I hope you don't mind—" she started, gesturing to her still not completely empty plate.

"Not at all," he overtook her before she finished the sentence. "Go ahead. Don't mind me."

"Okay," she nodded and finished her cup of tea.

"It's your turn," Kurtis said casually.

"What?" she asked in confusion.

"Your question. Ask."

"Ah,..." Lara immediately recalled their talk from the last night. "Okay then." She threw a glance into her plate before looking back right into his bewitching blue eyes. "Were you stalking me again?" she asked in a light tone and then took a bite of the toast.

"I just wanted to wish you a safe journey. That's all. I'm waiting for my plane too. I just chose the closest flight to the most probable yours."

The waitress brought them their ordered drinks. The American thanked her and she sweetly smiled at him in return with 'You're welcome'. Lara looked aside, but prevented herself from rolling her eyes. The waitress wasn't _nearly_ that nice to Lara before. Kurtis didn't react to the woman's apparent affection.

"I realized I didn't even ask you if you had enough money with you for an air ticket home," he said after the waitress left.

"I see no reason why you should care or lend me money," the young British woman automatically answered.

"I've already told you. I owe you one. But now thinking about it, that probably wouldn't make a good impression if anyone would have seen me giving you money. I wouldn't want to damage your reputation."

The irony of his remark amused her. "Like you could do that after everything. I was recently accused of the murder of a friend, amongst other things. Remember?"

"People forget easily," he said simply.

"Not about an aristocrat, Kurtis. Especially someone like me."

"I'm surprised it bothers you that much."

"I don't care about it," Lara said proudly. "I never did," she added with a shrug.

A smirk suddenly appeared on his lips.

"What's funny about that?" she asked defensively.

"Nothing. It's just,... You hear that song they're playing on the radio right now?"

She listened with a concentrated expression for a minute. Then she looked back at him. "What about it?"

"The lyrics go 'Tell me baby what's your story'. I just thought that part is quite fitting to us."

"Quite," she partly agreed. "Except that salutation."

"Sure," The American said in a dispassionate tone.

"Your favourite band?" Lara asked naturally.

"Actually, yeah. One of them. But you are cheating. Now I'm supposed to ask."

"Let's stop this question and answer game and speak like normal people," the Tomb Raider said, slightly annoyed. "You rather tell me something about yourself. Just like that."

"Such as?" he asked.

She was quite surprised the American didn't put up more protest. "About the place you currently live in, where you were growing up... I don't know. Choose something."

"There's nothing really interesting about me, Miss Croft," he said with a grimace.

Lara guessed her partner wasn't used to talk about himself very much. As a matter of fact, she noticed that he wasn't too talkative in general. She found herself thinking that it would be a characteristic common to both of them. But she didn't want to give up so easily.

"There must be something about you,..." she inconspicuously looked around herself before slightly leaning forward and lowering her voice at the final part, "about the last living member of the Lux Veritatis order..."

Kurtis imitated her and leaned even little bit closer to her, his head resting on his hands supported by the table, as if he wanted to tell her some big secret. She didn't back away, her eyes fixed on his.

"But it's surely not as interesting as the story of an English lady with enjoyment for guns and troubles, recently framed for a crime, returning to her native land."

Lara lowered her eyes with a sigh and put the toast she was holding back on the plate.

"Sorry if I spoiled your appetite." He rested his back against his seat.

"You didn't. There are just some things connected to my life story I would rather not think about right now."

"So I take it as no warm welcome is awaiting you in England?" he asked in a neutral voice and then sipped from his cup.

"Not really. Well,..." Her face brightened a little bit. "There is one person who still probably worries about me and is likely waiting for me at home. I owe him very much. His name is Winston." She paused, watching his emotionless face. "He's my butler," she added and took another swig of her coffee.

Kurtis lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "I somehow knew you always have to have something special. But I admit I didn't expect this." He shook his head with a sneer. "No wonder people who love rumors remember you then. So, you and that butler of yours are like—"

"A father and daughter, living only together under one roof. Yes," Lara said, somehow amused by his obviously wrong direction of thinking. "He is like a part of my family. Something like a father figure you could say," she clarified.

"I see."

"You will likely meet him when you come to my doorstep. In fact, he's more like my father than my real father currently is."

"I know it's kind of a personal question, but... You wanna tell me what happened?"

Lara hesitated for a minute as if she slightly regretted even mentioning it, but eventually decided to truthfully answer. "My parents don't agree with the way of life I've chosen. The life of an adventurer. That's all."

"Well, it's not very fitting for an aristocrat. A lady. You must admit that."

She shrugged. "It's how it is."

"Have you ever regretted it? Your choice I mean."

"Well,..."

_Right now it's a quite difficult question,_ she thought.

"There were some tougher times than others, but..." Lara thoughtfully paused for a moment. "I don't think I..." She breathed in and began again. "I still wouldn't probably change it for that snobbish life full of empty fortune and titles. I seriously doubt that I would be much happier now."

"That's quite an irony."

"It is," she agreed.

"Earlier you told me that you were arguing with your friend from Paris. And that you weren't on good terms lately. What was it about? Or am I asking too much?"

It appeared to Lara as if he wanted to fully use the while when she was willing to talk about herself. Now she was even more determined to get at least some of her answers concerning his person in return. After slight hesitation, she took a deep breath and started. "The main point is that he disappointed me as a friend, and I definitely lost a chance to forgive him someday in the future for what he did."

_Or better said didn't do,_ she thought bitterly.

"Even though I'm not even sure I would have ever forgiven him at all," she said, not wanting to go into details. "Now I'll never get to know if our relationship had ever changed. If we could have ever been friends again. It would have never been the same, but still. He definitely didn't deserve to die like this. Not the last moments full of fear and that dreadful death with his own blood splashed all over the wall of his home..." She pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers and closed her eyes for a short moment as the terrifying scene unwillingly played in front of her eyes again. The Tomb Raider quickly regained control though. "But what am I telling you. I don't even want to think of what that monster Eckhardt did to your father..."

"Your story is similar to mine in several aspects," Kurtis started, as if feeling it was the right time to pay back for her communicativeness. "It's weird. It's way too similar in a certain way," he incredulously shook his head with an expression that she translated as a bitter or maybe even painful, ironic smile.

It awakened Lara's curiosity. "What do you mean by that?"

"The last time I saw my father was a couple of years ago before Eckhardt killed him. We weren't seeing each other. And we didn't end up on nice terms either. But that was my fault. Not his." He regretfully shook his head.

"Why?"

"Well,..." Trent took a deep breath. "When I was younger, I simply didn't want to be a part of all this. The Lux Veritatis and the tough training connected to it, the Black Alchemist, the Cabal... And pretty much all that stuff. So one day, I just... had enough and turned my back on everything. All these duties. Back then I was just self-interested and didn't care about anything or anyone else. Pity I didn't realize this much sooner. Everything could have been different."

"Maybe it wouldn't have changed anything," Lara said sincerely.

"Maybe it would have," he opposed as he looked directly into her eyes.

"Or it all could have ended up worse. We both should admit to ourselves that we were just lucky that we got away with it all."

"Yeah, we two of all people can surely call ourselves extremely lucky," Kurtis said sarcastically.

"At least we are alive, if nothing else."

He sighed and looked at her. "You just love to have the last word, dontcha?"

She overcame his remark. "It can't be changed anyway."

He didn't say anything and looked away.

Lara glanced around herself at her surroundings and the people passing by. "What are you planning to do now? Now when Eckhardt and Cabal is gone..." she asked casually and then turned her gaze back at him.

Kurtis was silent for a moment and seemed to be deep in thought. "I don't really know. I don't believe the whole Cabal is gone _completely_. There still can be some remnants of it. Even though it's true that they likely won't be able to cause much harm now, without their _big_ leader and the Sleeper," he said, sounding like he was reassuring himself more than her.

Lara could notice the bitterness in his voice at the reference to Eckhardt.

"Well, there're still many similar _creepy _things for me to deal with even without the Cabal but—"

"What things_ exactly_?" she asked.

"The Cabal isn't the only existing evil in this world, unfortunately," the American stated as he rubbed his face. Let's leave it at that. Here and now."

She knew that this was the best answer she could get from him at the moment, as he obviously didn't want to talk more about it. She took the obvious hint and didn't ask further.

"To be honest," Kurtis carried on, "I didn't expect it all to end up like this and I'll have to solve this matter. 'What to do next.' My main goal was to settle the score with Eckhardt. At all cost. Not to get away alive if you know what I mean."

Lara lowered her gaze. "I do. You didn't expect you were coming back after everything. You were sure you wouldn't survive."

_And it almost ended up that way,_ she thought to herself.

"And you were reconciled with it, weren't you?" Lara added at last.

"It just wasn't the main priority for me to escape unscathed. And I usually don't believe in happy endings. But now thinking about your question, after you'll be so kind and give me my Chirugai back, I'll probably just return to my current appartment in France. And then I'll see. Something will show up sooner or later."

Current appartment? It doesn't sound much like a sweet home.

No, it doesn't. Because it's not. It's just a place I happened to end up," he said plainly. "And what about you? What you gonna do now?" he asked right away.

"Well, now I'm going back home to Surrey and I'll probably stay there for some time. And I will only rest for several days at least."

"Really? You don't seem the type for a longer relaxation. Who's gonna lock you up at home when I'm not around?"

"Very funny," she replied drily.

"Just kidding," he said in a conciliatory manner. "Enjoy your rest. You have several tough days behind you. You deserve it."

"I think we both do."

"Yeah, having a holiday doesn't sound like such a bad idea," Kurtis said and took a gulp.

"If you don't know what to do next, maybe you could spend a few days in England," Lara suggested. "Maybe it would help you to make up your mind about what to do. I need to do that too. Maybe your presence could help me with that. I mean, understand everything and sort out my thoughts. There are still many questions I want to get answered. And I have the feeling that you are the only one who can give me those answers."

"Is that an invitation?" he asked in a suggestive way.

"A recommendation only," she answered in a cold voice.

"Not very tempting like that, but I'll consider it." He took another sip from his coffee.

"Can I ask you something more personal?" Lara asked with a slight hesitation in her voice.

"Go ahead," Kurtis said as he put the cup back on the table.

"That thing with Eckhardt and your father... When did it happen?"

"You mean when he murdered him."

"Yes," she said carefully.

"It happened last year," he answered a little bit reluctantly and looked down onto the table.

"So it's still quite fresh, isn't it?" she half stated and half asked.

He didn't say anything, just slightly shrugged his shoulders and looked aside. Other than this reaction, she couldn't read any emotion in his face. But from his behaviour here and in the airlock after the mention of his father Lara guessed it was still a touchy subject for him. She started to feel even more sympathy towards him.

"How do you cope with it? With such a big loss," Lara asked quietly.

"I'm trying not to think about it too much. That's the only effective solution I came up with so far."

For a moment, none of them said anything.

"And... Are you,..." she started unsurely.

Kurtis looked at her, curiosity readable from his expression.

"Are you okay?" Lara finally asked.

"Yeah, the wound is fine. That healing stuff was kind of quack remedy, but now I almost can't feel it anymore."

"No. I mean... About the issue with Eckhardt." She looked at him in a way he would describe as caring.

"I'm alright. You really don't have to worry about me like that. I'm not so overly sensitive. I've already told you."

"But I don't think you are completely heartless either."

"How could ya know?" he asked with a mocking grimace.

"I just know it. Call it instinct if you want. You don't have to pretend you have no feelings. He was your father after all."

"Let's leave it, Ms. amateur psychologist. My wound is fine and so am I." Kurtis thought for a minute and then looked back at her. "That reminds me, before I forgot to ask you if you..." he trailed off.

"My injuries were only minor," Lara quickly answered his yet unsaid question. "Mostly just small scratches and a few bruises. Absolutely nothing to worry about," she said and waved her hand. "Really."

"And other than that?" he asked in a neutral voice.

"I'm fine. I've told you before."

"Okay."

"There is one thing..." she started. "I was thinking about the explosion that took place in the fortress, and... I realized that... The Sanitarium's inmates. They used to be normal people, didn't they? They were people. And they all died there. Just because someone wanted to cover their tracks. Maybe at least a few of them could have been saved. Some of them weren't aggressive, and maybe—"

"Don't you think it's better this way?" he interrupted her. "They were not those who they used to be anymore. And to me it didn't really seem reversible."

Lara automatically wanted to oppose his pragmatic statement, but right then started thinking more about what he had just said. Would she want to live if she wasn't herself anymore at all? Or could she bear to watch someone close to her in that condition? Wouldn't most likely vain attempts to heal them bring even more pain to them or their close ones? Now she wasn't so sure of her answers. She casted her eyes down.

Her companion noticed her reaction, and as if reading her thoughts, he said, "It can at least give a little bit comfort to you that when I went to turn the power back on, I stumbled upon several bodies of mercenaries who were most likely the ones who closed those people in there. The Proto you let loose took care of it."

_The Proto. The creature they were keeping there. I wonder what it looked like._

"I visited that lovely place when I was looking for you," Lara reminded him. "I've seen those dead mercenaries there. It served them right. I don't feel sorry for them. It's not like they were innocent people."

Kurtis grimaced. "Right."

"Can you share with me when you are planning to come for your weapon?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"There's something I need to take care of first. But it shouldn't take too long. Just a few days at the most."

"Okay. You are welcome, but under one condition. When you get there, try to use a door bell and wait. I would _really_ appreciate if you didn't randomly appear behind my back in my house like you usually do.

"You don't have to tell me that. You know, I can behave when I want," Kurtis said naughtily. "I have at least some long-forgotten theoretical basics," he added in a joking tone. "I'll try to remember those, lady Croft. You can count on it."

"How am I supposed to believe that?"

He only gave her an innocent look.

"You've been acting very unexpectedly so far," she clarified.

"So have you," he reacted. "First threateningly pointing your gun at me with that angry look of yours in the airlock, then trying to save my life right there and then again by giving the Obscura painting into Eckhard's paws, searching for me in the Strahov fortress... Should I continue?"

A mischievous smile appeared on her lips. "If I remember correctly, you were the first one who was endangering me with the gun - and I'm not even mentioning the theft -, and then in fact, in your own way helped me to get away from the Louvre and then from the pit with Boaz. You started this."

Kurtis leaned back in his seat with narrowed eyes. "You're a very strange person, you know that?"

"Is it meant to be an insult or a compliment?"

"You can choose whatever answer is to your liking."

"Maybe I am a strange person, but isn't it funny coming from a man who can move a deadly Frisbee just by the power of his will?"

"Yeah, well... Maybe," he acknowledged a little reluctantly.

"You are the weird one here," she added in confirmation.

"If you insist, Miss troublemaker..."

"To be honest, I've never met anyone like you," Lara noted, shaking her head.

"Well, that's not such a big surprise since I'm the last of the otherwise extinct order."

"That's not what I had in mind. I meant how unpredictable you are. In one minute you are robbing me of my painting, being cheeky, holding me at gunpoint. And then you are trying to save my life, helping me. Besides, as if it was not enough, you are making fun of me all the time. And that ever-present arrogance of yours. You like being mysterious and hard to guess, don't you? "

"I'm just trying to muddle through somehow," he shrugged.

The British woman finished her cup and put it back on the table, beside her now empty plate. "What will you want in return for the drink? I'm out of change."

"I didn't have really time to invite you for a drink in the Café Metro. And I would have loved to do that under different circumstances, y'know."

Lara couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

"On top of it," he continued, "I'm just returning the favor for that glass of wine. But if you insist, you could erase my debt with the painting. I really don't feel like trying to paint anything."

"I've done that a long time ago. Besides, it wouldn't fit into my home interior anyway."

"I guessed your taste for art would be better."

"It's okay with the painting, but not with the guns," she said half jokingly.

"I thought so."

"Just to let you know, I usually don't talk so kindly to people who were waving a gun in front of my face."

"So were you," he remarked and tossed his hands with a smirk.

"But..." she continued, ignoring him, "I'm glad I made an exception."

"I'm honored," he replied.

The corners of her lips curved in a hint of a smile. "And now I'd better go if I don't want to miss my flight."

"Sure."

"Okay, well, in the meantime," she said, standing up to adjust her backpack on her shoulders, "take care of yourself. I'll be expecting you."

"You too. And one more thing..." he started, also standing up from his chair.

Lara looked right into his eyes, curious about what he wanted to add.

"Try not to get into any trouble, problematic lady," he said at last and lifted the corner of his lips in an irritating smirk. "And don't create any if possible."

"The same to you. You yourself aren't that great in evading problems either," she noted. "Have a nice flight. Bye." She started moving away from the café. "And...," Lara began as she turned around, "it was nice to see you." With that, she turned and left without looking back.

"She just had to have the last word again," Kurtis muttered to himself and amusedly shook his head. The American was watching her until she disappeared from his sight amongst the crowd. "Lady Lara Croft. My pleasure." He sat back down and returned to enjoying his remaining coffee, his thoughts dedicated to her.


	9. Chapter 9: Unfulfilled Expectations

_Hi my dear readers! :) I am back with an update again. I'm very sorry about another long break. :/ I hope you didn't lose the interest in the meantime._

_This chapter is a little bit different from earlier ones so I hope it won't be too confusing. But don't worry. All proper explanations will be present later in the story. ;)_

_Some of you might notice that I used the biography of Luther Rouzic's character (written by Murti Schofield himself!) which can be found on the internet. (I got if from tombraideforums.)_

_I would like to thank _gyikhu_ for helping me make the chapter more understandable and overall better. ;)_

_And as always, I can't forget to thank you all for the support! You have no idea how much it means to me. :)_  
><em>I guess I don't even need to mention again that any feedback is welcomed. ;)<em>

_I hope you will enjoy the chapter!_

Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belong to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters except the original ones who appear in this story. Neither I own any plots from Tomb Raider.

I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Unfulfilled Expectations<strong>

"Here we are," Lara muttered to herself as she stood in front of the iron gate of her manor in Surrey. For a moment, she was looking through the bars and admired the walls of the building she had once inherited from her great aunt. The British woman unconsciously took a deep breath as she finally pushed the door bell and waited for an answer. The adventurer couldn't hold back a smile when she heard a familiar, kind voice.

"Good afternoon. How can I help you?" her loyal butler asked politely.

"You could start with opening the gate for me, Winston." She heard his gasp of surprise, immediately followed by the sound of the buzzer.

Lara went through the entrance and saw that the old man was rushing outside to greet her. She crossed the remaining distance between them in several swift steps.

"I'm so glad you are okay, Lara," he said in an excited voice and hugged her. "From the first minute, I knew you were innocent. I knew you would never..." he stopped himself before finishing the thought. "I mean, I'm sorry about Werner. It all must have been so stressful for you..."

"Winston," the adventurer answered as she returned the embrace, "I'm glad to see you." After a minute, she pulled away from him. "It's good to be back."

"Let's go inside, you must be very tired," he said, leading her into the house.

Lara didn't try to dissuade him from his assumption.

"But don't worry," he carried on, "you just need to get a proper rest and everything will seem better again. You will see."

_It didn't help much after Egypt,_ she thought, but didn't say anything aloud.

Winston closed the door behind them and looked at Lara with concern. "For a start, shall I offer you a cup of tea, Lara? Or anything else?"

"Maybe later, thank you." The Tomb Raider breathed in the air of her home and glanced around. "Did something happen while I was away?"

"The police were looking for you here. And then two journalists came to ask about your life. I threw them out immediately, of course," he said proudly.

Lara guessed that he had ordered both newsmen out of her property in more than a polite way - and maybe even offered them a cup of tea -, but again kept the thought to herself.

"Other than that, you had no other messages or visitors."

"Okay. That reminds me, I'm expecting one visitor, most likely this or the next week. His name is Kurtis Trent. He'll just come by to retrieve something. He is welcomed, so you can let him in and offer him whatever he will want."

"Lara," Winston hesitated for a moment. "You know you can talk to me, right? About all that happened." He was very curious to hear Lara's version of the whole matter concerning the Parisian 'Monstrum'. However, the Brit was already used to her certain introversion which had even significantly deepened after her return from the hot Egyptian desert.

"Of course I do," she answered with a tired smile, touched by his obvious concern. "We'll speak about it later. But first I'm just going to get some rest, okay?" The truth was that Lara didn't need to relax at the moment. She simply didn't feel like talking about the whole matter at all. It was still painful for her to mention Von Croy's death. The adventurer wanted to spend some time alone before sharing the story with anyone else, even Winston. And yet she also had to decide what to tell him and which details to leave out. Lara didn't want to unnecessarily perturb the old man. She turned to leave, but Winston's voice stopped her.

"Just... may I ask you, Lara, who this man you are awaiting is? If I'm not mistaken, you have never mentioned the name Trent before."

"I don't know him for long," she stated simply. "I stumbled upon him in Paris and then encountered him also in Prague. The man who murdered Von Croy had also killed his father."

_At least it seemed that way at the beginning,_ she corrected herself inwardly.

"We were cooperating. And he saved my life back there. I think I owe him one," Lara added as a hint of a smirk flickered across her face, even though she knew that her remark would tell nothing to her long-time friend. "Maybe I will invite him for lunch or something as thanks," she shrugged. "I'll see."

"I see..." he trailed off dreamily.

"Winston," she said in an emphatic voice and looked directly into his eyes. "Don't look for something that's simply not there. It was all about teamwork only. And the _'work'_ part of the word is crucial here."

"As you say, milady."

She threw him a sharp glance.

"I... I didn't mean to imply in any way that you and that... that Mister Trent... ehm... I mean—" he staggered.

"No milady is around," the adventurer stated in a strong voice and lifted her eyebrows in expectation of a reaction. The British woman decided not to mind his ramblings indicating – in reality a non-existent – close relationship between her and Kurtis.

After a short moment the actual source of her irritation hit Winston. "I mean, as you say, _Lara_."

"That's better," she noted jokingly. Lara started leaving, but halted after a few steps. "And thanks that you believed in me," she added, giving her devoted butler a weak, grateful smile. Then she finally set out up the stairs into her room.

* * *

><p><em>One week later<em>

After a light knocking, the door opened with a cracking noise of old wood. A man named Luther Rouzic entered the room and gently shut the door behind him. He was tall and very thin, even gaunt, dressed in a black suit. The most noticeable thing about him was two long scars running from the left side of his forehead across his missing right eye. Because of his somewhat overall haggard expression and bald head it was difficult to guess his age.

For the most of the world he was known as a librarian working at Prague city archives. Before that, at one stage of his life, he acted even as an archaeologist. But his true field of both specialization and at the same time passion for him were dead languages. He was world-widely acknowledged as an expert on old maps and all kinds of ancient texts including historic manuscripts. In addition to that, he was also able to answer various questions concerning myths, legends, and obscure exotica in general.

However, little the world knew about his other interests, especially the one of collecting grisly trophies. It was true that he was officially in charge of maintaining the ossuaries and grotesque museums of waxworks. These exhibitions were popular among certain kind of people, but others avoided visiting them. Mainly because they didn't enjoy the disturbing expositions of harsh and cruel historical moments and some infamous individuals. But it was not where Rouzic's extraordinary hobby ended. His favourite publicly inaccessible collection was much sinister, with even darker history connected to every single item.

Rouzic stayed standing in a very respectful distance from the other man in the room and inclined his head in a slight bow. "Master," he addressed the other man.

"I assume everything goes according to the plan," the man said from his armchair positioned in the dark corner of the room without turning his glance.

"Yes. Of course. We are getting closer to the chamber by every minute. But that's not the reason why I came to you. I just got the information that Trent is on his way here. It shouldn't take him long to arrive. I thought it might interest you.

The man sitting in the shadow looking out of the window lifted the corners of his lips into a slight, ominous smile. "Trent. I didn't expect him to be that capable and resilient so he would survive against Boaz in Prague," he stated. "Interesting." The man seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. "Yet he can come in useful later."

A hint of a malicious smirk of agreement appeared on Rouzic's scarred face.

"Kurtis Heissturm is a great figure," the man added.

"What about your injury, master?" Rouzic asked carefully.

The man unconsciously put a gloved palm on his chest. "Just a few more days and it will be completely healed." He was quiet for a while, thinking. "You may go now."

"What about Trent? Will you want to see him as soon as he gets here?"

"No." He paused. "Later. Let's give him short time to acclimatise. First I have to carefully think through his next possible role. There's no reason to rush. There should be no insurmountable obstacles now."

"As you wish," the librarian said and was ready to exit the room. As the thin man placed his hand on the door handle, he heard the man speak again.

"His arrival gave me an idea."

Rouzic only slightly nodded and left.

The other man's thoughtful gaze fell on an older issue of a newspaper lying on the table. The headline read that _'Lara Croft recently accused of multiple murder returns to her homeland'_.

"Yes, a very good one," he said into the empty room.

* * *

><p><em>Another week later<em>

Lara Croft had spent much of the past two weeks by catching up on sleeping, occasionally talking to Winston, reading some books and out of curiosity researching various information about the Lux Veritatis order. She had also used her leisure time more actively by relaxing swimming, riding her squad bike and as well as by more intensive practice of her body and shooting skills.

During that time she had finally got the anxiously awaited package from Prague delivered. Earlier she had been trying to imagine Kurtis' possible reaction if his weapon had got lost, so she breathed out in relief when she found the same content she had put inside the box several days ago.

While resting and trying to enjoy her time out, Lara realized she was feeling better than she had expected. She somehow managed not to think about Von Croy or anyone who had died in Paris, Prague or Egypt too much. Except occasional nightmares, or problems with sleeping, she was feeling overall good. Lara was wondering what the main reason behind it was. Could it be because the whole Egypt story had definitely ended with Werner Von Croy's death and so she could make a thick line behind it? Or did the fact that she'd had a companion on her last journey play the significant role? She had asked herself both questions many times. At the end, the British woman was grateful that Kurtis Trent had crossed her path and she had not been alone in her effort in defeating Eckhardt and the Cabal. Lara didn't want to admit it to herself, but she realized, in a certain way, she was looking forward to the American's visit. The adventurer noted that her expected visitor was already being late, but didn't attribute too much importance to it. She guessed that he could be spending that time either with his possible girlfriend - if he was not married which Lara doubted -, friends or maybe some distant relative. Or that maybe he was somewhere alone and had only followed her both advice and example by simply having some rest. She had also shortly wondered what was that 'something' he needed to deal with first. The British woman guessed it concerned something personal since he obviously didn't want to share the information with her just like that.

Lara was now half-lying on the comfortable couch placed near the balcony in her room, examining the ancient metal disc. She had already dedicated several hours to studying the Chirugai, searching for some inconspicuous inscriptions and marks that would tell her more about the object's origin. She had found none.

The Tomb raider was currently trying to figure out how the mechanism that moved the blades inside the enigmatic weapon was working. She was trying to make some sketches of the blades hidden inside according to how she remembered them. But all the time keeping in mind to be careful and not to put the object too close to the eyes. Just to be sure. Her concentration aimed at the mysterious weapon was interrupted by the sound of an opening door.

"Lara?"

She raised her glance at the voice and saw Winston entering the room.

"You have a visitor downstairs."

"Who is it, Winston?" the adventurer asked, even though she somehow knew the answer.

"You will be happy. It's your friend, Mister Trent."

Lara was surprised that she had overheard the door bell, but assumed she had been just too deep in concentration. The classical music playing in the background also didn't provide the perfect conditions for hearing surrounding noises.

"It was about time," The Tomb Raider murmured to herself, but narrowed her eyes when she noticed a suspicious smile in her butler's face.

"What's funny here, Winston?" she asked.

"Nothing, I'm just glad that you are happy."

"I've already told you there's nothing between us—" she started explaining.

"I'm not saying anything like that," the old man said as he exited the room, his delighted smile not leaving his face.

Her butler's behaviour irritated Lara a little, but on the other hand, she had to admit it wasn't very usual for her to have a visitor like the American waiting for her downstairs.

Lara shook her head and shortly checked out her appearance in the mirror. Then she glanced at Chirugai she was holding in her hand. "It seems we'll have to say good bye to each other," she said quietly. The Tomb Raider somehow grew fond of the weapon even though she couldn't use it. Right after she set out into the main hall to welcome Kurtis Trent.

_XXX_

Kurtis was scanning the landscape the window provided. He had politely refused an offered drink from the older man and was now waiting in the empty hall. The American was considering his following words and possible actions. The ticking of the old clock standing by the staircase was starting to get on his nerves, even though he had never actually minded similar noises. The reason behind it was that he was feeling tense because of the upcoming encounter. Kurtis never knew what he could expect from Lara Croft. He started impatiently playing with the lighter in the pocket of his jacket. He considered lighting up a cigarette but decided against it, noting to himself that this it was not the suitable time for it at all.

As the American was used to, he inwardly checked that he could feel his ever present gun underneath his leather jacket. It was giving him a feeling of reassurance, nevertheless he was more than sure of his very good level of martial arts if needed. Then there were always his Lux Veritatis abilities present for the worse cases. On top of that the deadly - and for several days dearly missed - Chirugai would be in his possession again soon. Kurtis decided not to call his weapon to him yet, though to his relief he could already feel its presence. He had imagined many different possible scenarios of the following dialogue.

_It won't be nice,_ he thought.

But Kurtis considered that maybe everything would be diametrically different from all his earlier assumptions and plans. And maybe that she would surprise him with something again. But for now he rather didn't expect any pleasant surprises.

_It had been kind of a nice feeling to have a partner in Paris and Prague,_ he said to himself inwardly. _Shame it all was one big lie._

_XXX_

She immediately spotted him standing near the window with his back turned to her. "You are late, Mr. Trent," Lara began, "And don't try to tell me it's because of the time difference between England and wherever you went or something similar," she said in a light tone, descending the stairs. Lara half expected that their talk would turn into another mutual bickering - she in a certain strange way enjoyed and was determined to decidedly win the friendly clash this time -, but got a different kind of an answer.

"I have a better excuse," Kurtis said somehow numbly as he turned around.

Lara was a little taken aback by his reserved answer, but suspected he would "surprise" her with something witty any minute. The Tomb Raider now stood right in front of him. She briefly examined his appearance. He was again wearing a black leather jacket and jeans. She noticed that the American himself seemed to be a little worn out.

"You could have called. I could pick you up at the airport. It's quite a long way from there. And this place is not that easy to find. And also..." she trailed off, noticing that there was something odd about his behaviour. And in the way he was looking at her.

"Did something happen?"

"You tell me."

She couldn't read anything from his face. "What's wrong?"

He didn't react at first.

"Look," she said, starting to feel confused and at the same time impatient, "your flying toy got safely delivered and I can swear I didn't even scratch it or—"

"Why did you lie to me?"

His question caught her completely off guard. "What are you talking about?" she frowned. "What am I supposed to have lied about?"

"Quit playing these games with me," Kurtis said with anger in his voice. "You've been making a fool of me all the time, so just cut it out already!" he roared the last part.

Lara was disconcerted by his behaviour. She didn't know him like this. But she didn't show her uneasiness. "First, keep it down," she said in an authoritative voice. "I can hear you perfectly. I have no problems with my ears. And then tell me what the hell you are talking about. What exactly are you blaming me for?" Lara asked. However, an uneasy feeling was growing inside her as she suspected the reason behind his anger.

"I knew right away you weren't telling me everything, but I wasn't expecting something like _this_ from you. Why didn't you kill that bastard Eckhardt? What was the reason?"

"What?!" she exclaimed in surprise and total confusion.

"And why did you claim you killed him? So I would have helped you with the police if needed? Or why? You well damn know what it means to me. But you don't care, do you? You were just obediently playing the role the Cabal gave you. Distracting me, deceiving me by lies."

"What are you talking about? Are you drunk or something? That's not possible. Eckhardt can't be alive. There's no way he could escape," Lara said, replaying the past events in her head.

_He's dead. I'm sure of it,_ she was reassuring herself. _Definitely._ _I saw it with my own eyes. I used the shards, one after another. But then who did Kurtis see? Or did someone trick him? Only if... Karel. He must have been the one who has survived. Damn!_

"Stop this theatre, Croft!"

"I don't work for the Cabal!" she protested. "Where did you get that from?" She felt angry that Kurtis accused her like that and didn't believe her, but did her best to ignore the urge to slap him and make him come back to his senses. "Look, I can explain it to you. It's not how it looks like. Everything is more complicated. Just listen to me—"

"I seriously have no interest in listening to your bullshit anymore."

"Kurtis," she tried again. "Okay, I admit I wasn't completely honest with you. I didn't tell you everything. That's true. But I didn't lie to you. Eckhardt can't be alive."

Trent shook his head with a sarcastic snort.

"He just can't be!" Lara added.

The American looked at her and grimaced ironically. "Right," he said in a bitter voice. "And what's this then?" he asked, reaching into his pocket.

Lara was anxiously watching him.

Saying nothing, he took out a photo and held it right in front of Lara's eyes.

"What can you see in there?"

"Kurtis," she said a bit more strongly, "just let me—"

"Tell me what's in it!" he shouted.

She didn't look at the picture properly till now. The photo had been taken from the distance, but she could clearly recognize the man in the picture.

_Damn it._

"There is..." Lara started unsurely. She looked back in his eyes, hesitating.

"Well? Go on."

"There is a man who looks like Eckhardt but—"

"And do you know on which day this was taken? How old it is?" he interrupted her.

She watched him, not saying anything.

"Nothing? Then I'll tell you. Though I'm sure you already have a tip. It was taken two days ago. By me, personally. What are you gonna tell me about this? And I want to hear the truth this time. The whole truth."

"He looks like Eckhardt," she admitted, "but... I'm convinced it's not him."

"And who is it then? His good twin?" Kurtis said bitingly.

"No," she started carefully, "he..." she paused and took a deep breath, now fully decided to be completely honest with him. "I got a chance to use only two shards. The person who finished Eckhardt off by the third one was actually..." She made a small pause. "A Nephilim. And he has an ability to change his appearance. Into anyone. He must have passed off as Eckhardt by the time you took that photo. I didn't tell you about it because I was sure the Sanglyph's power managed to kill that damn manipulative Nephilim. And I thought it would be easier for you too because..." she trailed off and frowned when she realized that her visitor was slightly scoffing and shaking his head. After a minute he stopped and looked in her eyes with a serious expression that, in a certain way, scared her.

"This is the best version you could come up with? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"You mean right at this very moment?" she retorted icily, already fed up with his behaviour.

"You are really a bitch. I wonder why you are doing all this. In fact I pity you. Now I finally understand why you have no friends around you, why your own family turned away from you and why you live here alone only with your butler. That poor old man has probably no idea what kind of person you truly are."

His words hit her weak spot, and in a certain way, hurt her. Kurtis used the things she had confided to him against her, probably in the worst possible way. She lowered her gaze to the floor.

_It was the last time I opened up to someone,_ Lara thought coldly.

Subsequently she proudly lifted her head and opposed him. "You are wrong."

"Well, you are a pretty good actress. I give you that." He was mocking her. "What did they promise you?" Kurtis theatrically looked around and threw up his hands in the air. "You already have everything!" Then he dropped his hands to his sides. The American glared back at her. "Or was it immortality? That's what you want? They'll never allow you to obtain it anyway. You've seen yourself how they treat ex-employees. You'll end up just the same—"

"Are you listening to what I say? Do you even hear me?" she grumbled in irritation. "Don't be stupid. I'm on your side!"

"On my side? No, thanks. I bet you used to be on that... Von Croy's side too. And we both know how it ended. Look, I don't know what he did to you, if anything, but I seriously doubt he deserved to have his inner organs smudged on the wall. But I admit it was really clever of you. To throw the blame on Eckhardt. The Paris Monstrum."

Lara couldn't believe her ears. "You can't possibly mean that it was me who killed Von Croy," she said in bewilderment.

Kurtis took a step closer to her. "Another nice try. You know what? I should have killed you right at the Louvre," he said in a low voice.

Lara almost couldn't hold back her inner wrath anymore. She didn't want to be offended and intimidated like this by anyone. Especially him. "Get out," she said quietly, hardly controlling her anger and the urge to punch him.

"Gladly. I'm just warning you. If you get in my way in this matter one more time and I get to know that you are doing it for them, I won't take any regards on you or pitying you anymore."

"It's impossible to talk to you. Are you even listening to yourself? You keep thinking just about yourself and that revenge of yours. And it's obviously darkening your brain. I thought you were different. But you are... you are just so..." she stopped as Kurtis took a step closer to her, almost pinning her against the wall. Lara fearlessly held his gaze.

"What? Can't you find the right words? It doesn't surprise me at all because you don't know who I am."

"That's obviously mutual then," she retorted, looking back at him with defiance.

"You have no idea what I have gone through and lost in my life," he carried on as if he didn't hear her. "You don't understand anything. So I'm warning you for the last time." He leaned closer to her face. "If you cross my plans again, ... I will kill you. Without hesitation." He roughly yanked the Chirugai from her hand.

"Get the hell out of here!" she yelled and roughly pushed him away from her with anger in her eyes.

Kurtis glared at her with daggers of hate as he breathed in as if he wanted to say something else to her, but just shook his head as if he had changed his mind at the last second. Instead, he turned around, went towards the door and slammed it shut behind him. The starting sound of an engine of a motorcycle followed a minute after.

Winston rushed to the hall with a shotgun ready in his hands. "Is everything alright?..." He noticed a deep frown in Lara's blunt face.

Lara didn't perceive him. A lot of thoughts were flowing in her head. Now she realized what Kurtis' words meant, and what they meant for her personally. Karel, the Nephilim, somehow survived the blast from the Sanglyph. She had known that they were meant to be immortal beings, but hoped that the artefact would be more powerful and able to end his existence. She had no idea what had happened with the Periapt shards. She guessed that either Karel had obtained them or they had been destroyed. And there was a possibility that the Nephilim now had the Sanglyph he had been trying to get all the time. Besides, she couldn't count with Kurtis' help now since he was obviously persuaded that she worked for the Cabal and was his enemy.

But what was more important, there presumably used to be three Sleepers. According to information she had got earlier, Lara assumed that there should be no other of them existing. But she wasn't willing to bet the existence of the whole world on it, considering that the Lux Veritatis could have done a sloppy job of erasing them from the earth's surface. She also wondered if the light ray had really destroyed the Sleeper from the Strahov. But there were even more questions that were bugging her.

_Why did Karel disguise himself as Eckhardt? Or could the alchemist really survive? Could they be cooperating?... Nonsense.  
><em>

"Lara," Winston tried again, "did he hurt you in any way? Are you injured? I'm sorry. I should have come sooner, but..."

She woke up from her contemplation. "It's fine, Winston. Don't worry. I'm okay, it's just... Just a misunderstanding. It's my fault for the most part."

He reassuringly put a hand on the woman's shoulder. It had an immediate calming effect on her.

"What happened?"

The Tomb Raider sighed. "It seems my peaceful days just ended. It's not over yet."

"What, Lara? Don't tell me that you are travelling into another danger so soon again."

"Unfortunately, that's exactly the case. Call Zip, please. I will need his technical help since it seems that Mr. Trent doesn't want to join me." She threw a glance at the slammed door.

_What a change since our last conversation, _she thought, chagrined_. __Damn it, Trent. You got it all wrong_.

* * *

><p>"What is the exact purpose of that, Master?" Luther Rouzic asked carefully.<p>

"Do you doubt my plans? Or motives?" the man gave him an intent look.

"No, of course not. I just thought you might be willing to share the details of the plan with me."

"You will see. Just give it some time. And the result will be worth it. Is this enough for you now?"

"Of course. I fully trust your judgment, Master."

"Don't call me like that, Illusionist. I am a fully-fledged eternal being. I don't need to use stupid human titles meaning no real power like Eckhardt did. At least not in your company. You are on a higher level than those mere mercenaries and other average human trash after all. As you already know, now, in these times, I decided to call myself Joachim Karel. So you call me that way."


	10. Chapter 10: Help Wanted

_Hi everybody! :)  
><em>

_Another instalment is finally here! :) I'm sorry it took ages as usual. The chapter is _much_ longer than I originally planned. That's one of the main reasons why it took so long to update._

___Since my English is not perfect, the chapter is more understandable thanks to ___gyikhu___! I bow before of your knowledge, patience and kindness. And of course, your writing abilities. ;)  
><em>__

_For this chapter I used some information from the internet about Gundy... ehm, Marten Gunderson. :) (And the Irish Connussie was mentioned in Tomb Raider: Chronicles.)_

__I hope you will like it. :)  
><em>_

Disclaimer: All rights (Lara Croft and Tomb Raider) belonged or belong to Core Design, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I do not own any of the characters except the original ones who appear in this story. Neither I own any plots from Tomb Raider.

I make absolutely no profit from this fanfiction. (Except from fan's happiness.)  
><em><em><br>__

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: Help Wanted<strong>

Lara and Winston were sitting together behind the simple white table in the kitchen. The adventurer had just finished her talk about the cause of the quarrel between her and Kurtis. As a matter of fact, she hadn't been eager to go over the whole issue with Winston. But on the other hand, Lara recognized that the old man deserved at least some answers. Eventually she provided him with an adjusted version of what had happened. Although she had left out the supernatural part of the story, she had managed to explain the core of the problem to her butler.

"So you see, Lara. It's exactly like you said. Everything was only a misunderstanding," the old man noted in a reassuring voice. "I'm sure Mister Trent will realize this fact soon and will come to apologize to you."

"That would be nice," she uttered and sipped the relaxing tea her butler had prepared for her.

"But when that time comes," Winston carried on, "promise me you won't shoot him right away when he appears in front of you, alright?" He placed his hand on hers and gave her a kind smile.

Lara returned the man's gesture by a subtle grin. "I'll try," she replied and downed the rest of her drink.

_It also depends on his behaviour though,_ she remarked to herself inwardly.

"Great tea." She put the empty cup back on the saucer. "Thank you, Winston."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he noted, clearly pleased with her satisfaction.

"Okay," Lara said as she stood. "Now let's get Zip on the phone. We have a work to do."

* * *

><p>Marten Gunderson skilfully checked the magazine of his pistol and re-inserted it with ease. Subsequently he put the gun into the holster.<p>

The last job had proved to be a complete failure. And even now, several days later, he still felt rage because of it. And also shame.

_Damn Eckhardt and his plans. Such a disgrace..._ he though, clenching his fist.

The whole operation in Prague had got screwed up in the worst possible way. In the end Gunderson could be glad that he and most of his men had managed to get out alive from the Strahov fortress without being arrested by the Czech police. He had never thought it all would have ended up the way it had. And that they would have had to run away like that. The mercenary was used to retreat within his missions. But it was always a part of a plan. Not only a desperate attempt to escape and save their skins. He was accustomed to have superiority.

The good thing was that many of his own men had not been acquainted with all facts in advance. He had concealed some information from them. And Gunderson now presumed it was one of the best decisions he had ever made. Also thanks to that, the Agency still had its good name in his world. And that was the most important for him.

Earlier he would have probably never believed in the supernatural. However, the events of the last days had convinced him about the opposite. But the mercenary assumed that now things were different. Now Gunderson knew what he was dealing with. And he and his men would be ready for all measures that would be needed to take. This time he would be more careful with all his future actions, too.

The Agency together with his name had always had - and at present still had - some prestige. And Gunderson would do anything to keep it that way. His feelings had never been the main decisive factor for him. The Agency always came first.

The last job had brought loss of several capable men and no cash. But the ex-soldier assumed the recent task should bring him and his Agency more than any other contract before. Besides, there was also a high possibility that he would get something he personally yearned for. For both himself and the Agency's name.

_I don't forgive debts to anyone. If this turns out well, I will get at least this one repaid since I can't vent my anger on Eckhardt anymore, _he thought.

He clapped the suitcase full of entirely new flashlights, flares, guns, walkie-talkies and other military equipment shut. With confident steps, Gunderson left the room and went to devote himself to his new - and this time very richly paid - duties.

* * *

><p>She ran right into the middle of the open space without hesitation, ready to act. Her eyes immediately registered the movement. Lara swiftly unholstered her two pistols and disposed of both stationary enemies on her left, closely followed by the new two on the right. As she proceeded, she managed to eliminate all emerging imaginary opponents. With now only two practicing targets left on each side, her mind suddenly wandered to the events of the last hours. However she did her best to fully focus on the task she had given to herself.<p>

After several more shots had echoed through the outside area, she stopped firing. Lara furrowed her eyebrows and headed to the back to check her aiming. The British woman grimaced in dissatisfaction when she found out that she had completely missed the very last target.

Lara had to admit the information she had received from Kurtis worried her. She was well aware that the threat posed by Karel and his possible plans could prove to be fatal with time. On the basis of Karel's speech in Prague she was afraid the Nephilim would try to revive his biblical race again. And finish what Eckhardt had started.

Except this reason she had a personal interest in stopping Karel, too. Right after hearing Kurtis' words, Lara hadn't really come to realize it also meant that Von Croy's murderer had escaped punishment. When the realization had hit her several moments later, she felt wrath. Like right now. And several heavily damaged targets were proving that.

However the Nephilim was not the only thing that was distracting her and making her head ache. She had to admit that Kurtis' burst of anger had thrown her off a bit as well. To her displeasure, somehow Lara wasn't sure what was troubling her more at the moment. But it was the image of Kurtis' enraged face that made her miss her target. Trent had said to her he would kill her. But would she be able to pull the trigger if it came to it? If she had to? If there was no other option?

_If it was him or me... Probably, _she pondered.

But then the British woman immediately realized she absolutely hated the idea of killing someone she knew - and could consider sort of a friend - just because of some stupid misunderstanding. The one she had caused.

Moreover, she still had in mind that Kurtis was the person who had saved her life and had been helping her before. And now Lara also remembered the feeling of happiness she had felt, founding out that he had survived his fight with Boaz.

She guessed Trent was currently likely close on Karel's trail. The Tomb Raider considered Kurtis could very possibly be in his immediate proximity even right at this moment. But at the same time Lara knew that the fact that the American obviously didn't believe in the Nephilim's ability to change appearance was putting him into a significant disadvantage. And she was also afraid that Kurtis' hatred towards Eckhardt could adversely affect his judgment. Trent didn't believe in the shape-shifter's very existence, after all.

Furthermore, she thought that this all was simply too big for only one person. Even for a man with special Lux Veritatis abilities like Kurtis Trent. Even an experienced adventurer as herself had made use of his aid in Paris and Prague. And now, as far as she knew, Kurtis was alone in this fight.

As she herself had found out, Joachim Karel had proved to be way more cunning than Pieter Van Eckhardt. And therefore also more dangerous. However, according to information Lara had, it was The Black Alchemist who had managed to turn the Lux Veritatis order practically completely into the dust. And since Eckhardt had almost succeeded in wreaking havoc on Earth, she didn't want to even think about what Karel could eventually cause. And what his final intentions were.

Lara sighed. The exercise at the shooting range did not bring her even nearly as much of relax as she had been hoping for. The negative thoughts kept mercilessly attacking her. Finally, the Tomb Raider put her guns back into the holsters. Then she turned away from the undamaged target and set out back into the house to await her friend's visit.

* * *

><p>Zip's presence and the energy radiating from him immediately brought Lara positive vibes. Even though her friend wasn't exactly giving her a warm greeting right after he had spotted her.<p>

"Croft! How the hell do you imagine not calling me right after your return from that damned Egypt! Or at least later? It's already been a while. And why the hell did you ignore my calls? I was really afraid about ya, girl. Y'know?" he complained, hurt.

At first the adventurer suspected her friend was overplaying a little bit. But later she speculated that his expression was maybe more sincere than it appeared.

"I thought you completely forgot about me."

Lara was indeed full of remorse for not devoting herself enough to her close ones. After she had returned from Egypt, she simply hadn't felt like talking to anyone. That time, she had preferred spending her time alone and mostly only dwelling in her gloomy tuned thoughts. The adventurer had found a certain peace in loneliness and welcomed the manor's walls where she had retired to. They had been giving her a feeling that they were holding back the world from which she had been staying aloof.

It was not like she had stopped loving her friends. But the scar left by Von Croy was deep and back then still fresh. The problem also didn't lie in her not trusting people close to her anymore. She didn't want them to get hurt at the first place. Back then, the recent memories of the Bedouin tribe she couldn't protect had brought her to this conclusion. Lara didn't want to see people willing to help her dead. The less people would be in her closeness, the better for them. They would be safer that way. It was how she had been looking at it.

Most of her friends had respected her decision, giving her some time. But Winston didn't let himself be driven away. The old man had been the only one she had accepted around herself in the end.

She had spent a big part of her life with him and was used to his company. From a practical point of view, the good thing was that Winston was taking care of the Croft manor as always. Another reason was that she didn't even know if he had anywhere else to go. As far as she knew, there was no one waiting for him at Connussie, his Irish birthplace. Plus Lara had been telling herself she also had to take regards on his high age. But now the British woman was really grateful for his stubbornness. Winston had always supported her in all situations. And unlike some other people he even had an understanding for her past-Egypt introversion. He was one of a few people who had stopped asking her about the whole Egyptian episode. And she had really welcomed it.

At that time she'd refused to follow her butler's advice about not hiding from the rest of the world. But now, the events of the last days made her reconsider her attitude towards certain things. She felt like the whole Paris-Prague matter somewhat finally had woken her up. Von Croy was dead and she herself had almost lost her life. As nearly had Kurtis. Lara had decided that it was time to follow her butler's opinion and face the world again, including her friends.

As for Zip, it could be said he was a colleague of her's and also a very good friend. Especially in Zip's case, Lara had supposed that he, being a sociable person he was, couldn't have missed her company too much. All in all, they hadn't technically spent much time together as they hadn't been seeing each other on a regular basis. But now it looked to her like she had been wrong.

Lara was hoping she wouldn't regret her decision to call Zip. She assumed that the American's easy-going attitude could serve as a pleasant distraction. And considered that maybe it was exactly what she needed at the moment. On the other hand, she knew the issue itself was so essential that it would likely require her full attention and concentration. There was still a possibility that Karel didn't have any dangerous card in his sleeve. But Lara recognized that such a serious matter definitely needed to be investigated nonetheless.

Zip was the first choice that had come on her mind. Their cooperation had already proved to be effective in the past. Thanks to his technical skills her infiltration in Von Croy Industries had been possible and also successful. And Lara knew she could fully rely on him. On top of it all, Zip was one of her few true friends. Even after she had basically ignored him for several months.

"It was kind of tough to be dead and then come alive, Zip," she started, trying to sound as if talking about nothing serious. But then her expression changed into one full of sincere guilt. "But now seriously. I'm sorry about that. I really am. I just... needed to spend some time alone. Everything was... difficult. It's hard to explain."

"Right. I get it, Lara. Don't let it bother ya. I'm glad to see you are doin' okay now."

"Well, it could be better. And that's why you're here."

"Yeah, I've figured it out from your call. And here I thought you missed my irreplaceable, charming and entertaining company."

"That's another reason," Lara said in a flattering manner. "Your remarks are often unmistakably comical, indeed," she added a little less friendly.

Zip ignored her remark. "In any case, I'm glad you called. And... I wanted to tell you I'm sorry about Von Croy. And that you were... you know... blamed for his death. It seems to me you can't have a moment of peace."

"Thanks Zip," she said dully.

"Okay," he clasped his hands together, rubbing them. Zip looked as if he was eager to start working on something. "So... Where do we start?"

"I'll tell you the whole story," she started. "But I warn you it's rather long. And... well. Some parts are kind of _unusual_."

"I've already experienced bunch of extraordinary things with ya, lady. Who else than you would dare to infiltrate a heavy guarded building in the middle of New York with a hang glider? And then who would be crazy enough to be runnin' around there among guards and cyborgs without any gun for a while? And see, it all worked out splendidly. Also thanks to my vital assistance, of course," he added with a smug grin. "Try to surprise me, Croft," he challenged her.

Lara gladly obliged. She was in a certain sense looking forward to Zip's poor attempt to trying to hide his shocked and maybe even scared face. Alchemy and beings able to change their appearance weren't often heard about outside the world of fiction. Lara could only hope that her American friend wouldn't doubt her sanity.

Zip was listening carefully to her every word. He let her speak without any interruption. The only change in her friend's behaviour she took notice of were some significant looks when she briefly mentioned Kurtis. She also managed to successfully ignore his lifting eyebrows and exaggerated blinking, and didn't let herself be distracted. As she went deeper in the story, his expression changed into a deadly serious one. At the end of her long monologue, Zip remained silent for a minute, staring into nothingness.

_He finally understood I'm not kidding. That's a good start,_ Lara thought with a certain form of mischievous satisfaction.

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" he exclaimed, wide-eyed.

She only gave him a compassionate look.

"Okay, okay. I got it. So, this... Muffin-something—"

"Nephilim," she corrected him, trying to hide her smile.

"Yeah, sure. Awesome. The dark alchemist..."

_More precisely The Black alchemist,_ she specified to herself.

"That sounds pretty oldschool, by the way. So this evil guy who killed Von Croy and put the blame on you, wanted to resurrect some slumbering pal. Not human. And then there was some show-off chap from the old mysterious order who was helping you. How colourful. So, what can I do for ya?"

"That newspaper reporter I mentioned, Luddick, showed me some of his files. Besides the members of Cabal there was another man, Marten Gunderson. A mercenary. Based on my personal experience a not very nice one. I would try to look there. Maybe if we find something about his whereabouts, it could tell us if he's still working in the same field. And for whom," she shrugged.

"Got it. So, now you are trying to find one mercenary bloke you met in the Strahov because he _might_ work for that alchemist's ex-colleague now. I mean that facelift weirdo you were talking about."

Lara thought she had noticed something weird in his tone. Was he doubting the Nephilim's existence as had Kurtis? She decided to let it be for now.

"Did I get it right?"

"Quite. You obviously have a very good short-time memory, Zip."

She heard him sigh.

"That's all we have. The only possible lead I can think of now. At least as I see it at the moment... I know it's not much."

"Look, I'm okay with that. I'll be glad to help. But wouldn't it be easier to try to find that fellow... Trent of yours and ask him for help? According to what you just told me, the guy probably knows the most about all of this stuff of all people. Well, except the bad guys who surely won't help us."

"I've told you that right now he is convinced I'm working for them." She sighed, clasped her hands together and rested them on the table. It's difficult. Trent wasn't exactly a patient listener and I don't know him that well to try to provoke him. He seemed really angry. I would rather evade that, if possible. I bet we will meet each other again. And it won't take long. Spying on him behind his back would hardly make the situation better. On top of it, I can handle it on my own."

"Are you sure?" he asked in a doubtful tone.

"Absolutely," she said without hesitation. "Your technical help is fully sufficient. In case you'll manage to find Gunderson's whereabouts, of course."

Zip seemed to be deep in thought, frowning.

"But in any case, I'm glad to have you here," she added quickly.

"Okay," Zip sighed. "But I just wanna let ya know that I don't like this. Maybe that _Lax Vetaratis_ guy could... you know. Watch your back."

She even didn't bother to correct her friend this time. "Look," Lara said matter-of-factly, "the plan is to check the situation out," she tried to calm him down. "I just need to assure myself that Joachim Karel can't pull another trick on all of us. I'll be fine," the adventurer said, quite surprised how plausible it sounded. Then her tone changed into even more serious one. "But still, there is a possibility that this can turn out ugly. First I want you to decide if you really want to get involved. The people implicated in this are really dangerous and a few people have died already. Let it go through your head properly first. I will understand if you—"

"You can count me in!" he answered, little too cheerfully for her taste. "We'll kick their asses, whoever or whatever they are! We're the champions here. I'm with you in this, girl."

"I was hoping you would say that," she admitted with a slight smile and patted his shoulder as a sign of satisfaction. But in the back of her mind a foreboding was present as she wasn't sure if her friend had fully understood the seriousness of the whole situation.

* * *

><p>Several days had passed since Kurtis' visit. And to Lara's disappointment, she and Zip didn't get anywhere yet.<p>

"So, what do we have so far? Have you got something big yet?" the adventurer inquired her helper as she entered the room.

Her technical assistant had already spent several hours behind the computer screen today. As he had several days before. "Not much," Zip admitted reluctantly. "This Gunderson guy is like a ghost. I got some basic data on him though." He finished typing into the keyboard and turned to her with his chair. "'Cause I'm maestro at findin' information, as you know," Zip grimaced and blinked at her before reaching for the pack of papers on the further table.

The gesture immediately reminded Lara her companion from Prague.

_I wonder what Kurtis is doing right now... Has he already found out Eckhardt is really dead and I was telling the truth?_

Zip's voice brought her back to reality. "Like..." he listed through the printed out pages. "This Gunderson is a war veteran. According to this, as a soldier he was engaged in several worldwide conflicts... blah, blah. But nothing on his current whereabouts. Some files mention that this big guy is officially runnin' a _''security agency''_." Zip made a grimace. "But it's most likely just a cover for something illegal. Kind of a typical fraud example, but in legal terms bulletproof. The merc knows how to play this game."

"These people usually do. Unfortunately."

"He got lost out of scope completely for the last... approximately ten months?"

"That would be the work for the Cabal I presume," she pointed out thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that makes sense I guess." Zip turned another page. "He and his company choose carefully where they work. And for who. So it's unlikely he would be willing to guard a supermarket or your beautiful manor with his goons," he added in a joke. "What an image," Zip chuckled.

"For a big cash, maybe they would. They are mercenaries, after all.

"But it's kind of good news, ain't it? We could possibly bribe 'em, if we somewhere get a fortune to give away."

"Nice thought. But I guess the vision of immortality is a more tempting reward," she objected. "Not many people would refuse it."

"I don't agree. I would be soo bored," he said with a yawn and stretched himself to stress his statement.

"So nothing useful for our purpose?" she asked to the point.

"Not yet, but I'm not givin' up yet. I've found some files which look promising. But it requires several passwords and it's heavily protected like a high-tech prison fortress for the worst guys. It won't be easy. But I think I'll get through. Maybe I'll stumble upon something there."

Lara held out her hand and took the papers from him. She briefly read through the notes:

_...Gunderson Marten..._

_...a veteran soldier..._

_...security work..._

She sighed and put the folder on the nearest table. Lara didn't like the idea of pleading Kurtis for help. But now she was seriously considering that tracking Kurtis Trent down would be the only way to move forward.

Lara's contemplations were interrupted by the buzz of the door bell. She ignored it, knowing her butler is on his way to answer it. She briefly recalled that Zip had mentioned ordering some equipment.

_I will give it one more day... And then I'll be left with nothing but to try to find the man who threatened to kill me. Great._

The adventurer sighed in disappointment. "Okay. Keep looking."

"Sure thing," he answered, his eyes already glued back to the computer monitor in front of him.

"But before that you should go and get your new toys. I won't be carrying it all for you. And I won't let Winston do it either—"

"That won't be necessary for now," she heard her butler say behind her.

"Lara?" Winston addressed her carefully from the other end of the room as if afraid not to interrupt her.

Lara lifted her glance from the page and arched her eyebrows in curiosity.

"Yes?... I hope it's not some journalist again," she stated.

"Oh, these ugly journalists," she could heard Zip mimic in joke. "But you're right. I met one some time ago. Asking about your lovely person. Annoying as a bedbug, I'm telling ya."

_Very helpful, _she thought. Sometimes Zip simply talked too much and too jovial for her taste.

"No. And it is not the postal service either. Mister Trent is waiting for you."

Lara gave her butler a surprised look.

_Trent. Right._

Mixed feelings were currently struggling inside her. She knew that not telling Kurtis the whole truth right from the start had been a mistake. And she now regretted her past decision. But Lara was in a certain way angry with him. The things the American had said to her were pretty harsh. And unnecessary. Besides, she was partly annoyed at herself that she hadn't thrown him out with more coolness, too. Also thanks to the lack of success in making a significant progress during the last days, this second, resentful side was now winning.

"Okay. Thanks, Winston," she said, trying to sound indifferent. I'll be right there."

She looked back at Zip and found him grimacing at her.

"Don't get your hopes up," she reacted on his easy-going expression. "I still want you to work on this. Nothing changes."

"You don't need to worry, Lara," he grinned. "I'll be right here, workin' like a busy bee. I won't interrupt the conversation of you two... Or anything else." His grimace grew even wider.

The adventurer rolled her eyes in annoyance and irritation as she shook her head. "What's with both of you?" Lara muttered as she turned and headed to the door. "First Winston and now you..." she growled.

"But I would love to meet the guy later if he gains your acceptance!" She could yet still hear Zip's cheerful remark.

_Oh, Zip. You Yankee. You're such an annoying chatterbox._

She passed several doors of the Croft Manor's rooms, went down the stairs and finally ended up in the main hall.

Kurtis stepped towards her in the minute he saw her. "Hello Lara."

As far as Lara could tell, she heard no hints of regrets in his voice. In connection with gaining zero useable information today, this fact made her irritation grow.

"What are you doing here?" Lara said as she crossed her arms.

"We need to talk. I have some bad news."

"I thought we were done with talking last time," she said coldly, giving the man standing opposite to her a hard glance.

"Look Lara, this is really important—"

"Like what _exactly_?" she asked with an obvious bitterness in her voice.

"I need your help."

"Oh, so now you need my help," she said in disbelief and threw up her hands in irritation. "Wasn't I supposed to not to get into your way?"

"Can't we just forget about that?" he stated with an annoyed grimace after a minor hesitation.

Lara certainly didn't expect him bringing a bunch of flowers serving as an apology. But she did expect at least a simple 'sorry' from him. That would be a fully adequate and an acceptable variant for her. But she definitely didn't like this - in her eyes - cowardly attempt to pretend that nothing had happened.

"You should leave."

"Now it's not the time for these games, Lara!" Kurtis said with an urgency. "We can resolve our differences later if you insist on it, but right now, we must stop him."

"We?" she said in a tone full of irony. "No thanks. I'm not interested."

"So you don't wanna save your friends and family?"

"What?" Her eyes narrowed.

_He's got some nerve..._

"They will die. We all will if we don't do anything. You realize that, don't you? Don't you care?"

"Don't dare to talk about people close to me ever again," she hissed with a finger pointed to his chest. "I got your point the last time."

"Lara," he said with a serious expression. "We have far more important matters at hand right now. Our silly arguments are pointless in this moment. We must stop Karel. And I know how."

"Well, It's nice to hear you finally realized I was not lying about killing Eckhardt."

He shrugged. "Karel evidently knows well how to manipulate the situation. Obviously it was his plan to make us two argue."

"So what?" she spited. "Let me emphasise this. I am not interested in working with you. Especially not after that hateful performance of yours you demonstrated during your last visit."

Kurtis sighed. "Look," he looked at her as at a little misbehaving child. "Everyone can lose nerve sometimes. And I don't believe it has never happened to you so don't play the hurt one. Besides, the last days weren't the easiest ones for me, okay? You know that."

She looked aside, recalling their second talk in the airlock in Strahov when Kurtis had mentioned the loss of his father for the first time.

"But as you wish," he said, seemingly losing his patience with her when she wasn't saying anything. "When I fail because of your pride and unwillingness to collaborate just because of some stupid reason such as personal antipathies, and they will come for you and everyone you know one day, remember I warned you. All my ancestors, especially my dead father, will be surely excited about it. And not just them."

"I didn't say I'm not going to do anything," she defended herself, once again taken aback by the roughness of his words. "I'm just working alone."

"Yeah, well, you surely know where to start," the American said ironically. "And you are also aware that a Lux Veritatis member is needed, right? But it's okay. Back in Paris and Prague you didn't need my help either. I forgot," he stated, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"What do you know?" Lara asked reluctantly as she fidgeted a bit. The Tomb Raider had to admit to herself that she got into a dead end. She knew Zip had been right. Kurtis likely had the most information about the whole matter.

"Have you changed your mind? Cuz if not, I see no reason to tell you".

She narrowed her eyes. "Fine," she said abruptly as she crossed her arms once again. "Maybe we can cooperate. If you can bring some useful contribution. That's it."

"I definitely can. That's why I'm here. Otherwise I wouldn't have come. But start first. What have you got so far?"

Lara grimaced in irritation. She considered to argue, but decided to accept his game and put their disputes aside for now. "Not much. I was trying to track Marten Gunderson down with not much success. I supposed that if we manage to find his whereabouts, it could lead me to Karel. Or at least to Gunderson personally. And consequently allow me to get some information straight from him. But the problem is that he obviously knows well how to cover his tracks."

Kurtis said nothing.

"He is the man who we both met in the Strahov," she added as the American wasn't reacting. "He was the one who kicked you down from that platform in the arena with Boaz," she clarified.

"I know well who he is," he answered in an annoyed, haughty tone.

Lara could feel coldness in his voice. The British woman partly assigned his bad mood to him almost dying in Prague. Moreover she guessed he was mainly still angry with her because of how Eckhardt's demise had happened.

_But still,_ _he has not right to treat me _like this_, _she concluded. _So arrogantly. _

The adventurer knew she had done her best back there in the Strahov fortress. And that she hadn't told Kurtis everything for his own good. At least that was her intention.

_Or is there something else bugging him?..._

Eventually she only gave him a narrowed look and shrugged. "Of course, you know everything. I forgot," she returned his earlier remark bitingly.

"I was doing a research on my own. You didn't expect me to wait and rely on your possible results and findings only, did you?"

"Well, you were patiently waiting for me to overcome all obstacles to get the painting at the Louvre, so you could just pick it up with ease from me, weren't you?" she retorted.

Kurtis half-smirked. "Exactly. And that's also precisely what I want from you this time."


	11. Chapter 11: Take It Or Leave It

_Hello everyone! :) The time for the chapter number eleven has finally come. I would like to thank everybody who's been_ _supporting me for the patience. I really feel bad for letting you all wait for such a long time. I'm sorry about it. Having free time, energy, inspiration, concentration and the right mood for writing is scarce ___sometimes_. :/ Well I can only hope that someone still follows this story and will have a nice read. :) _

_I'm happy to mention here I'm again very grateful to_ gyikhu_ for beta reading and advice._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: Take It Or Leave It<strong>

_As if my decision to work together again depended only on your wish,_ Lara thought.

"You'd better start talking," she urged Kurtis.

Instead of an answer, the American suddenly squeezed his eyes shut with a painful expression and put a palm on his chest. To Lara it seemed as if he had difficulties with breathing in. Despite her displeasure over his recent attitude, she furrowed her eyebrows with worry. "Are you alright?"

"Can't we sit somewhere or somethin'? I have an only several days old injury," he announced drily.

"I thought you said it was basically healed."

"Yeah, basically. I can still feel the wound a little bit. Enough?"

_Maybe that's why he's so nice to me lately,_ she thought sarcastically.

The British woman decided to comply with his request. She suggested they would move from the main hall to the room with a piano. There they would have privacy and comfort.

Because of the first unsure steps he took, Lara was afraid her visitor would faint on their way upstairs. But luckily Kurtis managed to get to the upper floor without her help.

She waited for him to settle on a sofa. Now sitting right opposite him, she had a chance to observe the American more closely. He was very pale in the face.

"You don't look very good," Lara told him anxiously. She partly blamed herself for the injury he had received in the Strahov fortress.

"It's not such a big surprise after what I went through just a few days ago, is it?" Kurtis replied in annoyance.

Because of his haughty tone, her sympathy disappeared in an instant. "So, what do you have? Spit it out."

"Just two words. Castle Kriegler," he stated simply and waited for her reaction.

_What a comprehensive explanation,_ Lara noted to herself in irony.

"Where is that?" she eventually asked.

"It's on the German-Austrian border. But what's more interesting is the castle's history. And even more important is what's located beneath it."

The last part caught Lara's curiosity. "I'm listening."

"I think it'd be convenient to start with some historical background. As you know, the fight between the Lux Veritatis and the Cabal with Eckhardt as their leader was ongoing for several centuries."

"More precisely since 1300's up to the present day, am I right?" she pointed out. "It was mentioned in Von Croy's notes," she added, answering his raised eyebrows.

"Your friend was obviously really capable in finding historical information."

"History and archaeology were his life," she blurted out without thinking.

"And unfortunately also his end."

_Thanks for reminding me,_ Lara thought in irritation as he had hit her weak spot. She still hadn't completely put up with the tragic fate of her former mentor.

"Let's get back to the topic, shall we?"

"That's why I'm here," Kurtis said, indifferent. "Anyway, the struggle between the both sides has claimed many victims during the time. And what might interest you from the historical point of view, even the Great Fire of London was caused by this war, among other similar incidents."

Lara shook her head. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that."

"I'm mentioning this to illustrate how intense these fights were. The Cabal and Lux Veritatis used to be very powerful and equal enemies at the beginning."

"With special abilities on both sides, right?" she stated.

"Nevertheless the Lux Veritatis eventually managed to capture Eckhardt and imprison him in Kriegler in 1445. The castle served as The Black Alchemist's prison for the following five hundred years."

"I saw some castle in the background of the painting depicting Eckhardt in chains. So I suppose that must have been the place. But how is this building so special?"

"The location itself is not. The Lux Veritatis used their abilities and knowledge to capture him in some kind of a pit underneath thanks to the Periapt Shards' power. It wasn't a very comfortable place from what I've gathered."

"Five hundred years spent in very unfavourable conditions. That explains well his aim to wipe out the Lux Veritatis order of the Earth's surface."

Kurtis carried on. "The order managed to keep him imprisoned there till 1945 when the castle was bombed by German planes. Because of this war event Eckhardt managed to escape. The power field holding him back got disrupted. Thus the only obstacle keeping him back was overcome. So he had a free way to re-create the Cabal again. And, of course, it meant an opportunity to seek the total destruction the Lux Veritatis as his revenge for the suffering he experienced in the pit. "

"I wonder why you, I mean the Lux Veritatis, didn't kill him right away back then? You had all three shards in your hands, or not?"

"I don't know the details nor who made the decision. But basically the order was trying to get some of Eckhardt's secrets. Some alchemy tricks or some crucial information. Anything that could eventually come in handy."

"Pretty reckless if you ask me. In the end this step actually gave him a future chance to escape."

He smirked. "Yeah, it was kind of arrogant of them, indeed. The irony of this world..." he shook his head. "Well. I think we both know it very well."

"Right. So what about the castle? How will that help us now?"

"The castle used to be one of the main Lux Veritatis' strongholds at one point. There are large underground areas underneath and its adjacent estates. Even more extensive than those in Prague or Paris. It was said that the Lux Veritatis got some info from Eckhardt and obtained information about a weapon able to kill a Nephilim. If we are lucky, it could still be there."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Obviously you are well acquainted with Nephilim," she stated in biting voice. "Interesting you knew nothing about their abilities to change appearance."

Kurtis didn't seem to be thrown off balance by her tone in the least. "I found out some facts only several hours ago. My father left some leads."

Lara appeared to be satisfied with his explanation. "Fine. So Eckhardt wanted to get rid of Nephilim from the start. And Karel was just faster and played a dirty trick on him first?..."

He grimaced in disapproval. "That's not accurate. It wasn't unfounded. Eckhardt and Nephilim were collaborating at the very beginning. More specifically Eckhardt claimed to be helping them to raise their race again. His real intent was to rule them all by himself, naturally. But after some time surviving Nephilim found out about the betrayal Eckhardt planned." Kurtis shook his head. "What a fool trying to double-cross Nephilim like that and thinking he could get away with it."

"On the other hand, it's the only likeable thing about that alchemistic bastard I can think of," Lara remarked.

Despite her persisting harsh tone, he looked amused. "Either way, it was the end of their so called team work. Eckhardt definitively fell out of favour with the Nephilim race. By the same time the Lux Veritatis order was trying to hunt down The Black Alchemist. You probably know where I'm heading."

"You are trying to say the Lux Veritatis and Nephilim were cooperating in the past?" she asked in disbelief. "That doesn't make sense."

"Not exactly. Don't get it wrong. It wasn't any friendship full of sincerity," Kurtis said with a grimace. "Eckhardt was just our mutual enemy at the time. It was a beneficial and temporary alliance for both sides. The Nephilim just wished to get Eckhardt out of the way. That's all. Back then the situation was very different from now. It was a long time ago. It's not even clear if the order knew about Nephilim's actual existence or their aims. In any case, Eckhardt posed an actual threat to their race. The remaining Nephilim assumed that the Lux Veritatis would kill the Black Alchemist instantly, so that he could not endanger the surviving members of the Nephilim race. But it didn't happen, obviously."

The Tomb Raider thought about the newly gained information for a minute. "Why don't you just go and get the weapon by yourself?" she asked after a while of silence.

"Are you listening to me?" he shook his head with a sigh. "The place is huge. It would take ages for just one person to find it. As much as I don't want to admit it, I don't have the needed experience. And you've proven to be really good at this. All Cabal's specialists were helpless. Surprisingly you defeated all of them with your abilities and knowledge. And it didn't even take you much time. It was a good move from Eckhardt to let you find the last painting. I must give him that."

A frown appeared in her face. "It's weird to hear that from you."

"You've found what Eckhardt wanted to get, didn't you? And your effort allowed us to get him in the end. Without you, it would have been impossible. We likely wouldn't have managed to kill him in time. Not before he would have awakened and controlled the Sleeper."

"Who knows," she uttered and looked aside.

"Look, I'm not gonna be pleading you to join me. But just let's say it'd be convenient to have someone like an expert on my side. Someone like you. Especially since the time is pushing us as it's important to be faster than Karel if we want to be able to stop his plans." He shrugged. "The truth is that I'm used to sorting out all my matters by myself for some time now. Your expertise would just give the world a bigger chance. That's all. I'll leave this for you to decide."

Lara was weighing her options.

The American could clearly see the lasting indecision in her face. "I will lead your steps," he disturbed her considerations, "and protect you there. The Lux Veritatis guardians shouldn't attack me. Also, there's likely to be some doors only a Lux Veritatis can open, and halls to enter. And also possibly traps only I can evade. Not minding this, we've already proved to be an effective team. With positive results. We definitely stand a bigger chance together to get the weapon faster than our enemies."

"Pity you weren't that determined to take part in Paris and Prague," she muttered in irony. "It could have saved me a lot of trouble."

"Just this one trip, Lara. That's all I want. And all this world needs. I won't make you stay to finish it afterwards. I'll do it all by myself then." He grimaced. "Well, you, as well as everyone else, will get to know the outcome anyway. Help me to decide the fate of this world."

"That sounds quite like a request. Or is it a real call for help? Either way I'm missing one specific magic word."

He leaned forward. "Either way, I'm going to try to obtain it with or without you."

"This attitude of yours is not a big motivation for a mutual cooperation, you know," she pointed with a bland face.

"I thought you understand the seriousness of the situation well. My manners should be the last of your or anyone else's concern."

"I'm not bothered by your behaviour at all. No worries."

"Whatever. I'm settling out in three days. I'll come back round that time for your decision."

"Look," Lara started to protest, "I want more information—."

"I need to go now. I'll introduce you to the details later," he said and was ready to leave the room.

She also stood up. "That's not how I imagine our cooperation."

Kurtis gave her a deep look. "I believe you'll make the right decision, Lara. Don't forget what's at stake." He exited the room with Lara on his tail as he bumped into someone on his way out.

"Whoa!" the Zip exclaimed. "So, this is the infamous Mr. Trent," the black man started with a grin from ear to ear, unaware of the previous dialogue's atmosphere. "You must be the man who lent Lara a hand in Prague. Glad she got ya there, man. I'm Zip," he introduced himself as he outstretched his hand to greet him. "Somethin' like a technical support you can say."

"And you must be one of Lara's pawns."

"Whoa, man! A tough guy in every weather, eh?" Zip let his hand drop.

"Karel must be out of happiness since you were unable to trace even one of their people. Don't you think?"

"Look man, I have no idea what's bothering you, but show a little respect to your American compatriot, will ya?"

"I assure you we have nothing in common worth mentioning."

"Hey! What's your problem, man?" Zip exclaimed, offended.

"I don't have time for this chit-chatting. You'd better get back doing your job she pays you for. I bet it's not this pointless talking."

Lara engaged in their dialogue. "Enough, Trent! How dare you—"

"I gotta go. One of my informers is waiting for me. It's urgent"

"Let me finish! What the hell is wrong with you?! How dare you talk to me and my friends like that in my own house and—"

"I'm leaving right now! I'll come by later." With that he hurried to the door.

"Wait—"

"I said it clearly, didn't I?" the American snarled as he turned to Lara with a very irritated expression. The sudden change of Kurtis' track caught the British woman off guard and caused her to stop closely following his steps. "Now it's important not to lose time," the visitor muttered under his breath as he was going away.

"What's the rush?! You've obviously missed the lessons of polite behaviour already!" Lara had shouted after him and then slammed the door shut.

Zip made a step towards her. "When you were talking about the guy earlier, I was expecting someone little nicer."

"He wasn't acting like this before. But after he's got to know that Eckhardt was killed by Karel..." The adventurer sighed. "Or maybe there's something else bugging him. Hell I know what's going through his head. In fact I don't really even know him. And I have no clue why he acts like an arrogant idiot. Maybe this all is just too much for him."

"Or maybe, he was being nice earlier because he needed your help back there in Paris and Prague," Zip expressed her negative thoughts aloud, tentatively scratching the back of his head.

Lara had to soundlessly agree with her friend. "Either way, it doesn't matter. Someone must try to stop Karel. That's the main thing. He's surely up to something."

She went over to the window and watched the taxi leaving her property. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "Zip, arrange a ticket to Germany or Austria, whatever is closer to Kriegler. For tomorrow."

"Only one?" he asked with lifted eyebrows.

Lara only looked back at him without a single word.

Zip grinned. "Good decision, girl. You don't need this jerk around ya. I'll do it right away. But... what about Trent?"

"He'll probably catch up eventually anyway. But hopefully it will give him a lesson at least. I've got to know what I needed from him for now."

"He said you would need him."

Lara frowned at him. "You were eavesdropping or what?"

"I just went by your room to the other room for... well... some equipment... and... started installing..." he stammered.

"Never mind," Lara cut him off, ignoring her primary irritation. "I've already managed to conquer two Lux Veritatis vaults without his or anyone else's help."

"So, you're really goin', huh? Again willingly stepping into the crazy war zone."

The adventurer looked back at her friend and let out a little clueless sigh. "I've told you what this is about. There's not much of a choice, is it?"

His face darkened. "Doesn't really seem like it."

"Then there's an agreement. But don't worry," she added now with a clear resolution and self-confidence in her voice. "If the weapon is there, I'll find it."


	12. Chapter 12: Innovative Hiking

_Dear readers, _

_the chapter number twelve is here. :) Your feedback is very welcomed. I would like to say that I'm very grateful for every review I've received so far. I thank you for all of them. :)  
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_AND here is the place where I want to stress my gratitude to _gyikhu_ for encouragement and beta reading._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: Innovative Hiking<strong>

Lara Croft's glance moved from the hills densely covered with trees in the distance to the GPS in her hand and back. She inhaled the fresh mountain air and tried to enjoy the offered scene in front of her for a minute. The raised spot and the partly clear sky enabled the perfect view so even small details in terrain were easily visible. Yet her destination was still nowhere to be seen.

She was high in the mountains where the temperature was moving along zero degrees in this season, but the suitably chosen clothes were keeping the adventurer warm enough. Thus the present coldness wasn't troubling her. It was her possible upcoming failure which was destroying the seeming feeling of calm and comfort. She well knew that her unsuccessful attempt to reverse the situation in her favour could lead to devastating consequences.

The amateur archaeologist reached for her binoculars and sharpened it into even greater distance. Lara sighed as she didn't catch a glimpse of the object she was looking for. Even the significantly enhanced vision didn't help. On the other hand, she didn't spot any signs of a competition. That was good news. She put the binoculars down and attempted to rejoice the last seconds of the peaceful atmosphere. Until the sound of the familiar voice didn't disturb her poor try to relax.

"Hmph. Nothing much. I prefer beaches."

_I should have thrown the earpiece away in the minute I found it,_ she thought.

Lara put the binoculars into her backpack. "You have too high demands, Zip. The view is beautiful," she said, zipping up the luggage and then setting it up on her back. "Let's enjoy the sight until blood starts to spill," she added with a mischievous smile and tilted her head aside. "What do you think?"

There was a silence for a while. "You're right. It ain't that bad. It looks kinda nice."

Lara left this statement without answer.

After she had got off the plane at the airport in Germany she'd checked in a hotel in one of near smaller towns. The aristocrat had assumed the best way to get close to the castle Kriegler situated high in the mountains would be on foot. She didn't want to bring attention to herself by using something loud as a motorcycle or anything that could leave easily visible traces. Especially in case the mercenaries hired by Karel or the Nephilim himself were already aware of the castle's existence and its importance as well as of her presence.

"Look,..." Zip started again.

_What is it this time?_ she swallowed her ironic remark.

Lara was very grateful for her American friend's help, but didn't share his excessive enjoyment in carefree chatting. The playful mood was one of the things she was missing lately. Almost.

"Yes?"

"It wasn't very nice of ya."

"What are you talking about?" Lara asked innocently as she was ascending the hill.

"Trying to leave the headset at home on purpose. You were the one who asked for help, remember?"

"Mainly just for some research," she specified. "And I knew you would pack the gadget for me, Zip. Thanks by the way."

"Ha ha."

"I would give you a call later, Zip. This has not been a very high-tech based operation so far. And I need to concentrate, watch my back and save my breath. As you know, all this is very important. We can chat about other trivial things later on."

"Well, if we get a chance, ya know. Especially you, Miss Croft."

"You have a point," she admitted.

"And I have another clever note for ya. You could've had more little technical helpers with ya to make the process much smoother."

"Where would be a fun of that? On top of it, couldn't someone else find me much easier like that? I bet our competitors have many resources."

"Not very likely. I doubt these guys could be nowhere as clever as me. But possible. A point goes to you. One-one.

Lara stepped over a fallen tree.

Zip cleared his throat. "Any sign of Trent?"

She paused but immediately found a proper answer as she pushed a branch aside, out of her way. "Zip, trust me. He's not the right guy for chatting. Even in his good mood he's not very talkative or sharing."

"No need to worry, girl. The help desk and my genius exceptional observations belong to you only."

"What can I say? I am a lucky girl."

"Try to sound a little bit less ironic, OK?"

"I'm grateful for all your help, Zip. You know that," Lara said now in a serious voice.

"Sure thing. But kinda boring. I'm just adding a sparkle to the gloomy atmosphere. I thought you might want to light up the mood since this whole situation is a messy mess."

"Wait a minute," she said as something on the ground caught her attention.

"What's up? Have you already stumbled over the castle?"

"Not yet as you can see. But it was definitely a good decision to go on foot. I can see tracks of tires. Motorbikes."

"Or a very drunk car."

Lara rolled her eyes. "I think you got intoxicated a little bit."

"Me? Nonsense. I'm always mortal drunk after I start. Otherwise it ain't even worth starting."

She ignored him as she stepped aside. "And there are horse imprints. Both quite fresh." Lara frowned. "I doubt tourists and castles enthusiasts decided for this way of hiking just out of boredom."

"But you ain't a typical tourist yourself. With the guns, headset, crazy bold plans and all... Should I continue? But more importantly, does that mean that it's over? The bad guys won before the competition has even started?"

She bit her lip. "We'll find out soon. Maybe they haven't found anything yet. Just like in Prague. They had the painting under their noses for some time."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed it's the case. And the artifact of whatever it is, is still up for grabs.

"So do I. But we'd better not underestimate them."

"I don't mind helping to steal it back in the worst case, ya know. Especially since we have a practise behind us already."

Lara's eyes narrowed. "I can hear something. I'd better be careful and keep radio silence. I'll ring you later."

"Roger. Good luck, Lara. Take care."

"Acknowledged. Bye."

"...Hopefully," they both added in unison.

Lara grimaced and turned off the connection. Her attention was fully drawn to the sound which now had become even more evident. It was a motorbike's engine.

A certain thought hit her. "Could it be Trent?..." she whispered to herself as she was nearing closer to the source of the loud sound.

_Why would he come earlier? I doubt Zip would have called him. He can't stand Kurtis after their last meeting..._

Lara removed hands from the holsters.

_Okay. Let's see..._

Knowing by past experience she can never be too careful, she ran up to the smaller hill and lied down on her stomach to observe the view from the distance.

Her initial assumption was wrong. Instead of the man she knew two male figures and another non-human one caught her attention immediately. A beautiful white horse was the only member of the various group she instinctively didn't feel resent for. Lara decided to try to get closer to eavesdrop.

Now having an overview about the direction they were heading to, she crawled back as she decided for the new course of action. She ran back down the hill and snuggled against the rock structure which was reaching close to the newcomers. Using the boulder as a cover, she slowly, still hidden, moved along the stone shape and managed to get closer to the two oblivious men. She caught a glimpse of a gun one of them had with him as she peeked out from her hideout.

"Damn guns for hire," she ceded through teeth quietly.

Lara took a risk to lean out a little bit more so she could hear well every word they say and wouldn't miss out anything important.

The man sitting on the motorbike hit a log during his slow and still discontinuous ride. The other one sitting on the horse was obviously very amused.

"Shut up, damn it!" the biker snapped at him.

Lara's eyes narrowed as she focused on the enraged man.

_Is it?... Rolland. Our old acquaintance. Obviously got a good sleep.  
><em>

"Come on, buddy. I've told you this beautiful noble animal is better for this kind of rough terrain," the man in the saddle said as he patted the horse. "But you need to get on with them. And show them honour."

_What a poet,_ Lara thought. _And a mercenary. What an unusual combination._

"Especially when you can't drive properly. That's it," the horse rider added with a mischievous laugh.

"I'll show you how to honour them and how to drive both at once," the driver shouted and then unexpectedly drove his motorbike very close to the horse of his companion. The animal neighed as it got startled and came full circle.

The sudden move surprised not only rider but also Lara. She quickly hid behind the boulder which had been her refuge till now and readied her hand on the holster of one of her weapons. Several little stones crumbled down off the rock.

_Damn._

The man easily managed to hold on to the horse, but a little bit suspiciously looked into the place where Lara was hiding.

"What?" The second man asked and listened attentively. "Did you hear it too? I'm going to check it out," he tightly grasped the handlebars, ready to set out.

"Don't bother," the horse rider answered him calmly. "It was nothing. And we are already running late. The castle is waiting. So come on before the ruin will fall apart completely. I'm not going to explain the boss that I'm catching a squirrel here. And especially you should be careful not to screw things up this time. On top of it, I don't know how about you, but I'm personally not brave enough to tell him it was just some marten making a weird sound here," he added with a snort.

"That's right. I can't be bothered by some other stupid animal," said the man Lara knew as Rolland. He got the bike ready to continue. He looked once again towards the rock and examined it, but his concentration was again interrupted by the voice of his companion.

"I think every single one of them is cleverer than you. And more competent. At least in riding a bike."

The man grumbled. "I was just waiting for you and the beast, you bastard. As you want," he declared angrily and started the engine. "No wonder your ex-colleague has rather risked to leave. No one could stand your bullshit for a long time," he said with a raised voice. "I hope you'll catch a bullet soon. I'm fed up with you already." With that the motorcyclist set out.

The horse rider turned shortly into Lara's direction and then followed his colleague. He heeled the horse. "I know the right way, you genius!" he shouted after his colleague. "You'll surely get lost without me. Hey! Come on! I can protect you from evil animals! Wait!"

Lara breathed out. Actually she was persuaded that the horseman must have caught a glimpse of her at least. On the other hand, she herself knew well that things at the first sight can be often confusing. Especially in deep large woods.

_They are right. The castle is waiting. I can only hope that not at them but myself._

Thanks to the tracks they left Lara could follow the pair and afford to give them a significant lead. However she didn't go on the beaten track but alongside it in case other mercenaries would follow their colleagues. However the way wasn't so hospitable here. She had to evade deep dips, other times she had to pay attention to sharp rocks lurking underneath the hills in turn. Lara caught a glimpse of some big wild animal in the distance. She knew even bears, wolves and lynxes could show up in the deep woods like this one. Probably because she didn't try to attack first, the animal let her be. One pheasant startled her when it unexpectedly flew away from the thick bush shortly after.

In one other case she rather climbed up high the tree to evade possible looks of another two passing by mercenaries. In the tree crown she used the opportunity to take a look around. In the distance she could see a top of the stone building sticking out among the trees on the top of one of the hills. The sight at the part of the old building again woke up the sparkle inside her which she knew so familiarly well. The desire for adventure and revealing other pieces of a history puzzle. The past and its consequences on present events and future. How gladly she would visit such a building linked with similarly important secret history under different circumstances.

_But it was quite a long time ago,_ she told to herself. _Without shadows of the past and present which are following me now._

Lately Lara was forced to similar acts only by recent events. And those weren't pleasant, nor was her involvement in them completely voluntary.

She carefully climbed down and jumped off the last part. The aristocrat inwardly counted. She saw the pair with the horse, later another two mercenaries on motorbikes. Above her head a helicopter flew in the direction of the castle. On top of it she had to suppose that other ones were already in place, maybe even with immortal Karel himself.

She again bit her lip. For a minute Lara thought that maybe Kurtis Trent's help could come in handy. Had she made a mistake by going without him?

_I don't need ones like him,_ she assured herself._ I just need to be careful and do it in a smart way. I can surely get inside unnoticed. I've done this before after all._

"I can evade all of them," she said to herself in a low voice.

The adventurer set out closer to the rest of the old building and hoped that she will be the winner of this searching clash.


End file.
